BJP points at ex-MP's claim, alleges 'Congress suppressed freedom of expression'

NEW DELHI: BJP Saturday alleged Congress has systematically suppressed freedom of expression and pointed to the disclosure by former Samajwadi Party MP and Urdu journalist Shahid Siddiqui that late Congress neta Ahmed Patel pressured him not to publish an interview with then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi and got SP to deny him a ticket for Rajya Sabha.

Siddiqui said Patel had warned him of consequences if he went ahead with the interview during the build up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and got him expelled from SP when he refused the Congress leader.

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia condemned Congress, saying, "Freedom of speech and expression is the soul of our democracy, yet Congress has systematically throttled it. Whenever journalists question them, expose scams, or report the truth, Congress responds not with debate but with intimidation."

In interviews with TV channels and in podcasts, Siddiqui, who has been bitterly critical of PM Modi, recounted how Patel, long-time secretary to then Congress chief and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, visited his residence at midnight to ask him not to carry the interview in Nai Duniya - Sidiqqui was its editor. "Despite the warning, the interview was printed, and I was sacked from SP within five to six hours," Siddiqui said.

He claimed that Patel had threatened him, warning that publishing the interview would harm his political ambitions, including his potential nomination to Rajya Sabha from SP.