Lok Sabha MP Imtiaz Jaleel on Monday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule's controversial remarks related to journalists, saying the saffron outfit thinks everything comes with a price tag. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader said the media should boycott Bawankule for his remarks.
An audio clip featuring Maharashtra BJP chief Bawankule has gone viral, in which he purportedly advised party workers to take journalists to roadside eateries ('dhabas') and treat them well to prevent negative publicity in the run-up to the elections. This led to allegations that the ruling party was attempting to influence the media. Facing criticism from the opposition, Bawankule later clarified that his intention was to emphasize that journalists should be treated with respect, and he encouraged party workers to engage with them to understand their views on the allocated polling booths.
Jaleel, a former journalist, told PTI that Bawankule's remarks show the BJP thinks that everything in the country comes with a price tag. When they (BJP) came to power in 2014, they took control of the media directly or indirectly. Yet there are a few channels and newspapers which did not get into their (BJP) trap and do their job honestly. Chandrshekhar Bawankule should now be boycotted by journalists. Let us see how he survives without the media, said the AIMIM leader.
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council Ambadas Danve also criticized Bawankule. In a post on X, Danve, a senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, said The BJP thinks they can buy everything and everyone. Bawankule should clarify whether this idea is his own brainchild or his bosses have told him about it. But the media will not work as per their (BJP) direction. If this was the case, the media would have not shown a mirror to the BJP over Manipur. Such things don't change people's mind and Karnataka election result was an example of the same, the opposition leader said in another post.