National Politics

Rahul Gandhi Says Mediaโ€™s Role Now Is To Distract, No Longer Of A Watchdog

Rahul Gandhi

Lashing out at the โ€œstructure of mediaโ€, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that โ€œhatred is being spread in the mediaโ€, while also alleging that it is playing the role of โ€œdistraction instead of a watchdogโ€

Hoshiarpur (Punjab): Lashing out at the โ€œstructure of mediaโ€, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that โ€œhatred is being spread in the mediaโ€, while also alleging that it is playing the role of โ€œdistraction instead of a watchdogโ€.

Gandhi called for an โ€œindependent media and institutionsโ€ citing his partyโ€™s philosophy, and said that media is a โ€œfeedback channelโ€ for the Congress governments. โ€œThe media is being controlled and pressured. The reporters are not at much fault. You have constraints. You have to do what your owner tells you to do. I understand as you tell me. Iโ€™m not criticising you. Iโ€™m criticising the structure of media,โ€ he said.

โ€œCongressโ€™ philosophy is of an independent media and institutions. Even if Congress wants to control media, we do not have the capability of implementing it because our structure is not as centralised as the BJP. We want independent and fair media,โ€ Gandhi added.

Alleging that media is playing the โ€œrole of distractionโ€, the Congress leader said that it should rather play the โ€œrole of a watchdogโ€.
โ€œHatred is being spread in the media. The media is playing the role of distraction instead of a watchdog. Your role should be of a watchdog. The small businessmen are being crushed, farmers are being looted, but you distract by doing Hindu-Muslim, Bollywood, sports,โ€ he said.
Gandhi said that the media should put pressure on the government.

โ€œIf you were given freedom, you would have asked about the data which we have presented here. You should be raising the issues like farmersโ€™ issues, and employment issues. We would like the media which puts pressure on the government. You are feedback channels for the Congress governments,โ€ he said.
Gandhi, while responding to a question on his โ€˜security lapseโ€™ during the Bharat Jodo Yatra today, said that he saw the person who came to hug him.
โ€œI could see a person who came to hug me, I donโ€™t know why you are calling it a lapse. There is a lot of enthusiasm in this Yatra and it happens. Security people checked him and he was just excited,โ€ he said.

Also, Read: MoU Signs With SBI To Facilitate Farmers Get Loans At Low Interest Rates

A man who tried to hug Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra in Hoshiarpur was later pulled away by workers.
The Congress leader also slammed the BJP and RSS alleging that both have โ€œcaptured all the institutions of Indiaโ€. He said that there is a fight between the institutions which have been โ€œcapturedโ€ by the BJP and the opposition.

โ€œThe BJP and RSS have captured all the institutions of India. This is not the political fight like it used to be earlier. Now there is a fight between the institutions which have been captured and the Opposition. EVM is one of those factors. The attacks on the Oppostion leaders through CBI, ED, and Pegasus. This is not a normal democratic functioning,โ€ he said.

โ€œThere are attacks on farmers from multiple angles. They are not being given protection. We had given them protection during UPA through loan waivers and MSP,โ€ Gandhi added.

Congressโ€™ Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed at Jhingar Khurd village of Hoshiarpurโ€™s Tanda in Punjab on Tuesday. The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 last year, will end in Srinagar on January 30, with Rahul hoisting the tricolour there.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by HW News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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