Rahul Gandhi appeals journalists to be fearless

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday appealed to journalists to guard the truth without "fear", like the Army protects the border.

He was addressing a public meeting here in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress chief alleged that Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam accused Mehul Choksi had deposited money in a minister's bank account.

"We showed it to the reporters, but they were scared (to report it)...They are scared. Look they are laughing," he said while looking at a journalist sitting close to the stage.

"They are saying that brother (Gandhi) you are speaking the truth but we are scared what will happen (if we write the truth)," Gandhi claimed.

He alleged that a woman was tutored by the BJP at a meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poll-bound Chhattisgarh.

When contacted, senior BJP leader Hitesh Bajpai said Gandhi was suffering from a "political paranoid syndrome". 

Gandhi alleged, "The woman was told that officers and the prime minister had come from Delhi and that she would be asked questions. They told her that she has to say that her income has doubled. The PM came and a television show started." 

He claimed the woman spoke as she was told to.

"She spoke as tutored amid loud clapping and Modiji said that 'achhe din aa gaye' (good days have come)," Gandhi said.

"After the meeting, a reporter approached the woman. Scribes are intelligent. He was not scared and asked her whether her income was really doubled. The woman told him that it was in fact got halved," Gandhi said.

"When the journalist asked the woman the reason for saying that her income had been doubled, she said the officers from Delhi told her what to speak in the TV programme," he claimed.

"The journalist wrote a news piece on this, and after 10 days, the media house for which he was working sacked him," the Congress chief alleged.

"That is why there is fear. Don't be afraid and be like the Army that protects our border," Gandhi said.

"Your work is to protect the truth in India. Some times, the scribes write against us but I will not scare your, threaten or pressurise you. We know your position," he added.

-PTI