On Saturday, March 25, addressing a press conference for the first time after he was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member on March 24, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lost his cool yet again, lashing out at two media persons.
The press conference had been largely one-sided, with Rahul Gandhi accusing the government of silencing him over the Adani issue. However, when some reporters posed some seemingly probing questions concerning his defamation conviction which led to his expulsion, the Gandhi scion was spotted losing his mind.
At first, the Gandhi scion, lambasted journalist Ravi Sisodia of CNN-News18 and called him a BJP stooge when he questioned him about his conviction in the ‘Modi surname’ case, adding that BJP has alleged that the remark was nothing short of an insult to the OBC and the socially oppressed classes of the country.
“Aap itne directly BJP ke liye kyun kaam kar rahe ho, thoda discretion se karo yaar. Thoda ghoom ghaam kar poocho. (How is it that you are so openly working from BJP, do it with some discretion. Don’t pose such direct questions, be diplomatic), he said.
“If you want to work for the BJP, bring a BJP symbol and wear it on your chest,” Rahul lambasted. “Don’t pretend to be a pressman…Kyun hawa nikal gayi?” he further mocked the journalist.
#WATCH | “Don’t pretend to be a pressman…Kyun hawa nikal gayi?”, says Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to a journalist questioning him on his conviction in ‘Modi surname’ case pic.twitter.com/SdaaUeraoy
— ANI (@ANI) March 25, 2023
Soon after Rahul Gandhi’s press conference, several social media users took to Twitter to reminisce about how these two journalists, whom the Gandhi scion rebuked and mocked in front of the entire media, are actually members of the Congress-friendly journalists’ brigade who have always written plaudits for the party and its leaders.
Sharing screenshots of a few of tweets by CNN-News18 journalist Ravi Sisodia where he sang praises for ‘Rahul baba,’ journalist Pradip Bhandari tweeted in Hindi, which roughly translates to, “Rahul Gandhi’s reprimanded journalist has long been a Congress supporter and in his ‘tight’ circle. People should take note that the godi media will be shown its proper status at the whims of their bosses.”
राहुल गांधी द्वारा फटकारे गये पत्रकार काफ़ी समय से कांग्रेस के समर्थक व उनके ‘क्लोज़’ में रहे हैं। जिसे देखना है देख लें – गोदी में बैठने वाली मीडिया ऐसी होती है, जिसे कभी भी उसकी हैसियत याद दिला दी जाती है। pic.twitter.com/JnOoXH1Ftw
— Pradeep Bhandari(प्रदीप भंडारी)🇮🇳 (@pradip103) March 25, 2023
Disgusted by the arrogance shown by the Gandhi scion, journalist Pallavi Ghosh tweeted, “the two reporters who were targeted have covered the party for years – the only badge we carry and wear is our Mike …”
4 the two reporters who were targeted have covered the party for years – the only badge we carry and wear is our Mike …
— pallavi ghosh (@_pallavighosh) March 25, 2023
Pallavi Ghosh, who is covering the Congress party for a long time, said that Ravi Sisodia is also working on the Congress beat for the last 15 years. “The reporter who everyone is happily calling godi including those who flaunt, their lavish lifestyle and have a gyaan on everything – he has been covering the party for 15 years .. more than YOU have spent in reporting .. knows party in and out .. is appreciated by some .. and he is NOT GODI,” she said, clarifying that Ravi Sisodia is a veteran Congress beat reporter and he is certainly not pro-BJP. It is notable that the term ‘Godi media’ is used to mean media houses and houses who are allegedly pro-government and pro-rulling party.
The reporter who everyone is happily calling godi including those who flaunt , their lavish lifestyle and have a gyaan on everything – he has been covering the party for 15 years .. more than YOU have spent in reporting .. knows party in and out .. is appreciated by some .. and…
— pallavi ghosh (@_pallavighosh) March 25, 2023
Further expressing her displeasure over Rahul Gandhi accusing Sisodia of being a BJP agent. She also said that there was no need to attack the journalist for the two questions he had asked, 1. BJP says you tore the ordinance and hence you faced the law 2. BJP says OBC has been disrespected. She further added that while Congress leaders are saying that this was a great move by Rahul Gandhi, there are others who are not happy about it.
Going by the Twitter timeline of Ravi Sisodia, it is clear that there is no hint of him being pro-BJP, while there are several tweets which indicate his tilt towards the Congress party.
Below are some previous tweets by CNN-News18’s journalist Ravi Sisodia, in which he couldn’t stop extolling the Congress party and its prince, Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul’s best speech yet..
— Ravi Sisodia ರವಿ (@ravi27kant) January 17, 2014
Amethi mei Rahul baba ki jeet pakki..(No Modi wave in Amethi)
— Ravi Sisodia ರವಿ (@ravi27kant) May 3, 2014
After accusing the Congress-beat journalist of being a BJP agent, Rahul Gandhi then went on to embarrass controversial journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, insinuating that Sardesai sometimes works as his unofficial spokesperson.
While Rahul Gandhi continued his attempts to establish a relationship between the businessman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, journalist Rajdeep Sardesai attempted to interject, but the Gandhi scion coldly shut him up. He also said that Rajdeep Sardesai speaks for himself sometimes. “Please let me finish Rajdeep, unless you want to answer it for me, which you do sometimes,” he remarked. Rajdeep Sardesai was visibly embarrassed by the comments of Rahul Gandhi, which was caught on camera.
Video 2
— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) March 25, 2023
The extraordinary bonhomie between @sardesairajdeep and Rahul Gandhi at the same presser where he nastily humiliated a journalist for asking a blunt question, speaks for itself.
He says Rajdeep answers questions posed to Rahul.
Rajdeep be like🫠
pic.twitter.com/WgcecdBNsJ
Rahul Gandhi’s remark on Rajdeep Sardesai exposed what is already widely known, that the journalist has close ties with the Congress party. He regularly gives clean chits to Congress leaders involved in controversies and openly supports Congress and other parties opposed to BJP. However, it is to be seen how Sardesai takes this public embarrassment by Rahul Gandhi.
Nevertheless, this is not the first time the Gandhi scion was seen losing his mind at journalists. In September last year, during his interaction with the media in Ernakulam in Kerala as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi insulted a female journalist from NDTV because the controversial media house at that time was being acquired by the Adani group. Rahul Gandhi repeatedly told the female journalist that she has a ‘new owner’ before eventually moving on to not answering her original question.
During the press conference, the journalist from NDTV, whose name was not audible in the video, asked Rahul Gandhi why he was not running for the post of Congress president in the upcoming party elections when he is leading the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra. But instead of answering her question, Rahul Gandhi commented, “I believe you have a new owner”, with a smile on his face.
आज प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस के दौरान राहुल गांधी उद्योगपतियों की मशहूर जोड़ी के बारे में बात कर रहे थे। जब एक चैनल की पत्रकार ने उन्हें टोका तो सुनिये उन्होंने क्या कहा👇 pic.twitter.com/Ab5DmY0RGU
— Aadesh Rawal (@AadeshRawal) September 22, 2022
In December 2021, the senior Congress leader lost his cool yet again, lashing out at the media for asking him about the accountability of the Punjab lynching incidents.
In what had happened, Gandhi had posted a tweet saying lynching was completely unheard of before 2014. During his press conference, when a reporter asked Rahul Gandhi about his tweet and drew his attention towards the tragic deaths caused in the lynching incidents in Punjab, a visibly irate Gandhi scion tried to fend off the uncomfortable questions by accusing the journalist of doing the Centre’s bidding. “Sarkar ki dalali mat kijiye(Stop doing Centre’s bidding), don’t distract from the issue,” Rahul said when asked about the inaction over lynching incidents that took place in Punjab over the last few days.
Similarly, on August 12, 2021, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi got irked when a journalist asked him a seemingly uncomfortable question and accused the journalist of being biased against the opposition.
“Are you the government’s spokesman? Has the government asked you to say so? I am asking you. Are you the government’s spokesman? Do you work for the government?” The reporter replied, “I am from media,” to which Rahul said, “You are not from media. You are the government’s employee. I will tell you the truth about the media. Let me tell you. Let me tell you,” Rahul Gandhi lambasted.
