TV broadcast news channel Zee News issued an apology on Saturday for airing discrete remarks by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Zee News while covering the Udaipur murder took parts of Rahul’s statements on the hooliganism of his Wayanad office that happened on June 24, and aired it as his statement over the heinous crime.
The channel’s primetime show DNA, anchored by Rohit Ranjan, stated that the senior Congress leader had made “shocking” statements concerning the gruesome Udaipur murder.
“While calling the accused from the Udaipur killing, he (Rahul Gandhi) said that he is not angry with them,” Ranjan said.
Shortly after, the video cuts to Rahul speaking, “The children who did this…they’ve acted in an irresponsible way. I don’t have any anger or hostility towards them…they are kids, I don’t think they understand the consequences of these types of things.”
The viral clip was shared extensively on social media platforms accusing Gandhi of showing “empathy” to the murderers of the Udaipur killing.
However, the next day, in their daytime show, the channel issued an apology stating that it was aired in the wrong context.
Activists of Kerala’s ruling CPI-M’s student wing, SFI, had vandalised the Congress leader and local MP Rahul Gandhi’s office in Wayanad on June 24 and also assaulted a staffer, even as police stood by.
The protesters were reportedly angry as Gandhi, who is the Wayanad MP, failed to act on the issue of the ‘buffer zone’ of eco-sensitive areas. They raised slogans that Wayanad doesn’t need a ‘visiting’ MP.
On July 1, Rahul visited his constituency’s office where the destruction took place.
He told reporters that it is the office of the people of Wayanad and what had been done by the Left students’ cadre was “quite an unfortunate thing.” But, he made it clear that violence never resolves problems and he does not harbour any anger or hostility towards them.
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