Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday demanded action on a complaint filed by Press Club of Leh (PCL) against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders for allegedly offering bribe to some members of the club on May 2.
Taking to micro-blogging site twitter, Mr Abdullah, who is vice president of the National Conference (NC), said “We expect @JmuKmrPolice & @SpokespersonECI @ECISVEEP to take cognisance of this complaint filed by the Press Club in Leh”.
With the this text, Mr Abdullah also tweeted a copy of the complaint registered by Press Club of Leh in Police Station Leh, alleging that BJP leaders, including its State President Ravinder Raina and former MLC Vikram Randhawa, ‘tried to bribe media persons on May 2 after a press conference to use their platform to influence the outcome of the election’.
“We didn’t accept the offer and rejected it out rightly and showed our anguish at their attempt,” the complaint said.
“The press fraternity of Ladakh strongly condemns this,” the complaint said and asked police to file an FIR against Mr Raina and Mr Randhawa for allegedly violating Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and for trying to bribe media.
Later, in a statement, a spokesman of the club said, “We would like to clarify few things in reference to the letter being circulated widely on the social media about senior BJP leaders allegedly trying to influence media fraternity of Leh by offering a packet full of cash. We, the media of Leh, are objective in our outlook and we perform our duties as the watchdog of the society.”
“Our aim was to bring this incident into the notice of the respected officers associated with the elections who are trying to conduct this election peacefully without any violation of the Model Code of Conduct,” he said.
He said this step is clear violation of MCC and an attempt to belittle the dignity of media men in Leh. “Being responsible citizens of the country and also as members of the fourth pillar of the society, our objective was to bring this incident to light. Now, it is the duty of the concerned officers to take the matter forward,” he added.