On Wednesday (28th February), Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh insulted journalist Mausmi Singh after she asked countering questions about Sonia Gandhi contesting polls from Rajasthan. Mausmi Singh works as a journalist at Aaj Tak and India Today and has a history of favouring the Congress party in the past few years.
During the press conference, Ramesh stopped the woman journalist from completing her question as she attempted to ask why Sonia Gandhi decided to contest the Rajya Sabha elections from Rajasthan and not from Himachal Pradesh. She asked if the party already knew about the cross-voting that happened on 27th February amid the Rajya Sabha polls.
She further indicated that the Congress knew about the dissatisfaction among the Congress leaders in the state of Himachal Pradesh and that they would opt to cross-vote in favour of the BJP. To this, Ramesh instead of answering the question interrupted the woman and said that she was twisting the fact and presenting it for the media story.
“This is very wrong. The situation is quite straight. You are unnecessarily twisting the situation and presenting it. Such questions should not be asked. You are arguing and imitating Amit Malaviya,” Ramesh said directing to Mausmi, the video of which is making rounds on social media.
Jairam Ramesh insults Aajtak's @mausamii2u for asking why Sonia Gandhi was not sent to Rajya Sabha from Himachal because Congress knew MLAs are upset?
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) February 28, 2024
Mausami gets angry with the insult
She has loyally defended and promoted Congress for years and this is how Congress treats her pic.twitter.com/2uShu8VeRz
It is important to note that Mausmi has a history of allegedly ‘supporting’ the Congress party. Recently, Mausm covered the roadshow by Congress in the Amroh district of Uttar Pradesh. She also interviewed Ramesh on 25th February who countered the BJP in the state.
Senior Congress leader @Jairam_Ramesh hits out at BJP, says "BJP don't want to engage on real issues that Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is focussing on."#ReporterDiary #BharatJodoNyayYatra #Aligarh (@mausamii2u) pic.twitter.com/5er6AGIyO3
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) February 25, 2024
In a series of reports, she further also lauded the Congress supporters for standing by the party amid elections.
मिलिए अमेठी के अनोखे कांग्रेस कार्यकर्ता अनोखे लाल से, जो पांच दशकों से कांग्रेस के साथ हैं और यात्रा कर रहे हैं, उन्होंने हमें बताया कि वह वास्तव में अनोखे क्यों हैं। #Congress #ReporterDiary | (@mausamii2u) pic.twitter.com/Vc5vtUEvYb
— AajTak (@aajtak) February 24, 2024
Earlier to that, the journalist was also seen interviewing Jairam Ramesh after the UP Police recruitment exams had been cancelled by the state.
मिलिए अमेठी के अनोखे कांग्रेस कार्यकर्ता अनोखे लाल से, जो पांच दशकों से कांग्रेस के साथ हैं और यात्रा कर रहे हैं, उन्होंने हमें बताया कि वह वास्तव में अनोखे क्यों हैं। #Congress #ReporterDiary | (@mausamii2u) pic.twitter.com/Vc5vtUEvYb
— AajTak (@aajtak) February 24, 2024
Singh has been reporting about the party activities very actively for India Today and Aaj Tak and felt insulted after, Ramesh whom she interviewed for several times in the past interrupted her and said that the question she posed was incorrect. Ramesh was later forced to apologize for his words after Singh began yelling during the press meeting.
Harsh Mahajan, the BJP’s nominee, defeated Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi for Himachal Pradesh’s lone Rajya Sabha seat on Tuesday.
The campaign was deadlocked, with both the Congress and BJP candidates receiving 34 votes, indicating that at least six Congress MLAs voted against their party. The outcome was then determined by a random drawing.
In Himachal Pradesh’s 68-member assembly, the Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25. The remaining three seats are occupied by independent candidates.
