"Take Journalists To Tea... You Know What I Mean": BJP Leader To Party Workers
NDTV
Mr Bawankule's comment provoked a furious response from the opposition, which has accused him and the BJP of threatening journalists to manipulate political, economic and social narratives.
Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule's "take journalists to drink tea... you know what I mean" diktat to party workers - to persuade them not to file reports critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, or the Bharatiya Janata Party, ahead of next year's election - has triggered a row.
Addressing a block workers meeting in Ahmednagar, Mr Bawankule called on the BJP's rank and file to make a list of "nuisance-creating journalists" and monitor their activities and reports. In a widely circulated audio clip, he also urges BJP workers to ensure journalists publish only "positive news".
"...small-time video journalists running news portals sometimes present a minor incident as if some blast has taken place. Prepare a list of such nuisance-creating journalists, and invite them for a cup of tea... so they don't write anything against us... You know what I mean by inviting them for tea."
