Kejriwal, Bharti mount attack on media

Says he has got the news that reporters have been asked to do a negative story on AAP

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Law Minister Somnath Bharti today mounted an attack on the media with the latter even going on to accuse it of taking money from Narendra Modi.

 

In his address at an event organised on the eve of Republic Day at Chhatrasal Stadium here, Kejriwal said, "I don't know why media houses want people to speak against me. They are associated either with one party or another."

 

Citing an example, he claimed he had got a call from a reporter of a news channel who told him that he had been asked by his boss to do a negative story on AAP that its popularity is going down.

 

"He went outside and spoke to people, the first 50 of them were not ready to speak against us. All of them said that they were happy with the government. Many reporters are honest, media owners and some political parties are not letting them work. He said it was a compulsion as the boss has asked so he got three-four people to speak against you," claimed Kejriwal.

 

He argued that "this is not journalism. This is your country as well. This is wrong".

 

Earlier in the day, Bharti also targeted the media.

 

As reporters continued to question him over the controversy surrounding him, he accused them of taking money from the Gujarat chief minister.

 

"How much money have you received from Modi?" he asked.

 

However, he later backtracked and apologised after being criticised for the comment.

 

"I didn't mean to say that and if anybody is hurt I would like to apologise to them," he said.

 

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Harsh Vardhan used the opportunity to attack Kejriwal on the issue.

 

"Now, if the media starts conveying to the people the indecent behaviour and the violation of laws and norms by his own law minister, why does he becomes so narrow minded that he starts abusing the very same media who had given him so much praise in the last few years," he said.