Even as the Congress officially closed ranks around 'private individual' Robert Vadra after he pushed away a reporter's mic over a question on his land deals, party leader Sandeep Dikshit broke ranks and said that Vadra could have maintained at least 'basic civility'.
A livid Vadra was seen on a video footage shown on TV channels asking the reporter four times as to whether he was serious about his land deal question
According to the Indian Express , Dikshit had said, "“I haven’t seen it and I am not responding as a Congress spokesperson because it is a matter between an individual and a cameraperson. All I would say is, for any person, there is a public etiquette and decorum we all maintain, and you can have overbearing media people at times, I can appreciate that, but I think for anybody we must maintain basic civility… And I think if we have some grouse we should just let it go, this kind of public display is unfortunate. I don’t know what the circumstances were and I have not seen the tape, but all of us, specially people who are known in public, must maintain a level of decorum.”
He had also said that it would be prudent for Vadra to apologise if he had hurt any persons feelings.
AFP
The Broadcast Editors' Associationalso demanded an apology from Vadra, saying he has "crossed all boundaries of behavioural decency".
BEA's General Secretary NK Singh refuted claims made by Congress, which has vigorously defended Vadra, that it was a private event where the incident occurred and said reporters were invited to cover the function at a gym.
"BEA expects of Vadra that he tender apology for what he has done," Singh said.
Noting that Vadra was answering questions posed by the same reporter in a "very comfortable way" as long as they were about the gym, he said his behaviour took a U-turn when queries turned towards the new BJP government in Haryana and his controversial land deals.
"He crossed all the boundaries of behavioural decency. Shoving camera and calling the reporter 'idiot' and 'nuts' only shows that he has scant regard for democratic institutions," he said.
Earlier, Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala had defended Vadra and criticised the media for 'provoking him'.
"Indian Constitution and our established ethos guarantee Right of Privacy, personal space and liberty to all individuals, more so, when a person is neither in public life nor holds any public office. It is clear that entire episode is being propagated as a political agenda for obvious reasons which cannot be considered either fair or proper", he said.
He said repetitive hounding of an individual on an issue that has been "conclusively rejected both by a constitutional body like Election Commission of India as also High Courts and finally the Supreme Court of India is not appropriate".
Congress also reminded BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "shoddy treatment" of two journalists whey they questioned him on Gujarat riots when he was the state's chief minister.
"I want to remind leaders of BJP and friends of the media as to how none less than the current Prime Minister (the then Chief Minister) Narendra Modi had removed the mike and walked out of a pre-fixed interview with leading journalist Karan Thapar who questioned him about Gujarat riots," he said.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said it was Vadra's "sheer frustration" that caused this inappropriate behaviour.
"Vadra was the one who had called India a Banana Republic and we Indians as mango people but it is time that we make him realise that India is no more a Banana Republic which was ruled by the first family of the Congress," Patra said.
Rubbishing the Congress' defence of Vadra, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said he is not a private citizen, a term Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh used to shield him and chide media for paying so much attention on a "non-event".
"Vadra is not a private person. If he had been a private person then he would not have got the privileges in Haryana, neither he would have got privileges at airports," Hussain said.
"Why (is) a private citizen being unnecessarily hounded?" Singh tweeted.
"If he has violated any law, prosecute him. If (he) has ill gotten wealth confiscate it, but this unnecessary media attention is not justified," he posted in another tweet.
Asking the media not to target him, he said, "We politicians are feeling jealous of the media attention which Vadra is getting. We are the real punching bags for you. Spare him!"
Singh claimed there was an agreement between the journalist and Vadra that questions would be asked only about health and gym facilities and accused the reporter of breaching it.
However, senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain countered Singh saying that had Vadra been a private person he would not have got privileges.
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