Sheikh Shahid Hotel Singge Leh
A bracket of Journalists in Leh Constituency, were the polls took place on Monday accused BJP of trying to bribe their reporters for a favorable coverage to influence the national elections.
This came into the limelight after a CCTV footage purportedly of politicians handing out the envelopes among the press members of Leh, Ladakh went viral. The Leh press club has seen it as an attack on their dignity.
Around seven journalists along with their club’s President, Morup Stanzin had filed a complaint last week. In this complaint to Election Commission they had made allegations on BJP party members trying to buy them with money and mould their narrative for party’s political gains in the election.
It said that BJP leaders including J&K Unit President Ravider Raina and MLC Vikram Randhawa on May 2 at Hotel Singge Palace in Leh, had tried to backhand the reporters by offering them money in envelopes as an attempt for using the media platform and for creating an impact on the outcome of the elections.
The press body has termed this as a malicious act carried out by the BJP workers in place, to malign their character. They categorically said that they didn’t accept the offer and felt anguish by such cheap pursuit of BJP.
This took place two days before a Union Minister was to hold a rally in the Leh region.
Although, the party’s Ladakh incharge Vikram Randhawa while addressing to a press conference in Jammu yesterday has denied all the allegations of maligning the journalist body. He said, ‘‘these are the baseless and bluffing allegations made by some Congress minded journalists.’’
He termed it as a handiwork of some anti-BJP elements and Congressmen, those who are hell-bent on tarnishing party’s reputation by merchandising such dirty political tactics.
Soon, after the news the Leh press club issued the statement and condemned the act of party in question.
To clear its position the BJP held a presser in Jammu on Wednesday.
Randhawa,in a press conference said that there was nothing special in the clip to hype about. He said that the pressmen were just given those envelop invitations for the coverage of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was supposed to hold a rally on May 4.
‘‘After the press conference was over, some of these journalists were with us for more than an hour and had an exotic lunch for which we paid Rs 11000. Normally when eight or ten people dine together doesn’t cost so much. But their lunch cost us this bounty and isn’t this also a type of bribe?” Randhawa questioned brazenly.
Meanwhile, the National Conference leader Omar Abdullah yesterday on his twitter handle wrote, ‘‘In light of CCTV footage purported tom show the BJP leaders attempting to bribe journalists in Leh, Im re-tweeting my original tweet with the letter of complaint by the Press Club Leh. Action must follow’’.
However, BJP in no position is accepting these blames against them. In fact, they have talked of filing a defamation case against the said journalists and have demanded an apology from them. The party said that it will sue the Leh journalists for making fake claims which were politically motivated to put filth on the party’s character and name.
Moreover, the Indian Express reported that a fact-finding inquiry into complaints of J&K BJP leaders had handed money in envelopes to the media person in order to report in party’s favor has found Prima Facie merit in the bribery allegations.
