Srinagar
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that action must be taken in the alleged bribery of journalists by BJP leaders in Leh.
Taking to social networking site Twitter, Omar wrote: “In light of the CCTV footage purported to show BJP leaders attempting to bribe journalists in Leh I’m retweeting my original tweet with the letter of complaint by the Press Club Leh. Action must follow.”
In light of the CCTV footage purported to show BJP leaders attempting to bribe journalists in Leh I’m retweeting my original tweet with the letter of complaint by the Press Club Leh. Action must follow. https://t.co/ki9nCelpQu
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 8, 2019
“This is the CCTV footage of the alleged bribery attempt. Kudos to the journalists in Leh, their integrity & honesty is a shining example for their fellow journalists,” Omar tweeted.
This is the CCTV footage of the alleged bribery attempt. Kudos to the journalists in Leh, their integrity & honesty is a shining example for their fellow journalists. https://t.co/lwR1MlupNP
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 8, 2019
The National conference leader was reacting to the emergence of CCTV footage from a hotel in Leh where several BJP leaders could be seen distributing envelopes among media persons.
Video footage that emerged on Tuesday purportedly showed some BJP leaders handing over envelopes to journalists at the hotel ahead of the elections to the Ladakh parliamentary seat. The footage showed BJP State President Ravinder Raina speaking to journalists while his colleague hands over the envelopes to the reporters.A reporter is seen opening the envelope and returning it to a BJP leader, who does not take it back. The woman then drops it on the table next to him.
Earlier in its complaint, the Leh Press Club had said that BJP leaders, including Jammu and Kashmir unit President Ravinder Raina, had tried to bribe journalists on Thursday at Hotel Singge Palace in Leh.
“After the press conference was over, BJP leaders, including state president Ravinder Raina and member of legislative council Vikram Randhawa, tried to bribe the reporters by offering money in envelopes in an attempt to use our platform to influence the outcome of elections,” the press club said in the complaint. “We did not accept the offer and we were anguished at such an attempt.”
The press club said in a Facebook post on Saturday that the BJP had tried to “belittle the dignity of media of Leh by offering them cash”.
