Gujarat Assembly Election 2017: BJP threatening journalists in state ahead of polls, Congress tells EC

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was threatening journalists in Gujarat for airing Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi’s interview, and urged the Election Commission (EC) to take notice of it. [caption id=“attachment_4240475” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Randeep Surjewala. IBNLive[/caption] Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that some journalists were receiving threats from high-level state BJP functionaries who were telling the media persons that they would be jailed for violating the Model Code of Conduct. “We appeal to the Election Commission to take notice of it. It is for the EC to decide whether an action is a violation of Model Code of Conduct or not,” Surjewala said. “For the record, in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also gave an interview to a channel a day prior to voting. If that was not a violation of Model Code of Conduct, how could Rahul’s interview be?” he added. The Congress leader also pointed out the BJP released its manifesto a day ahead of the first phase of polling in the state on 9 December. Some local news channels in Gujarat telecast Rahul’s interview on Wednesday. The second phase polling in the state is scheduled for Thursday.