Sushilkumar Shinde does a U-turn on `crushing media` remark

In a bid to water down the controversy over his statement, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said he did not mean “electronic media” but “social media”.

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi/Sholapur: In a bid to water down the controversy over his threat to "crush" the electronic media, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has now said he did not mean "journalism" but “social media”. "I have recording of my speech. I was referring to social media and the violence incited against students from the Northeast in Hyderabad and Karnataka. My comments were not about journalism", he said here on Monday night. On Sunday, Shinde was heard threatening to "crush" the electronic media, alleging a section of it was unnecessarily provoking the Congress party by indulging in "false propaganda" against it. Meanwhile, the BJP called Shinde`s remark as condemnable. "We are proud of the media of this country. How can the Home Minister use such language," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said. BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "Congress is itself crushed under corruption and misrule and talks of crushing media." On microblogging website Twitter, BJP MP Anurag Thakur tweeted:

A little criticism & Mr Shinde's blood boils.Says "I have intelligence department under me" vows to "crush" the electronic media. Justified?

— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) February 25, 2014

The outburst by Shinde, a Congress leader who hails from Maharashtra`s Sholapur district, came at a Youth Congress event here on Sunday evening. Shinde, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Sholapur, alleged that since the last four months a section of the electronic media is "manipulating" news about him and his party and warned it would be "crushed" if this kind of reportage is not stopped immediately. "What is happening in the electronic media largely I am aware of it. In the last four months, there have been efforts by the media to provoke us (Congress). We will crush such elements in the electronic media, which are indulging in false propaganda, if it did not stop" he said. "I have the intelligence department under me. I know who is doing such things. I know what is happening. Some forces are behind this," he added. Shinde`s remarks came against the backdrop of a series of opinion polls in the national and regional media which predicted a poor showing for the Congress in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Urging the media to focus on positive stories, which will be welcomed by the people, Shinde said the people of the country will not accept those dividing the country by disturbing society.