Congress leader slams AAP after Avadh Ojha's interview stopped abruptly: 'Drama company'
The controversy erupted during a BBC Hindi interview with Avadh Ojha, who joined AAP earlier this week.
Congress leader Mumtaz Patel has hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party after an interview with Avadh Ojha, a well-known UPSC educator who recently joined the AAP, was abruptly stopped at the party's Delhi office.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mumtaz Patel, daughter of the late Congress leader Ahmed Patel, slammed AAP’s approach to media, accusing the Arvind Kejriwal-led party of stifling dissent and calling it a “drama company".
“Awadh Ojha's BBC interview highlights how @AamAadmiParty is more of a drama company than a political party. Their facade of 'new politics' crumbles when they silence media and suppress freedom of speech. A true 'Fekuwal' party with no room for dissent,” Mumtaz Patel posted on Friday.
What happened?
The controversy was triggered during a BBC Hindi interview with Awadh Ojha, who joined AAP earlier this week.
Ojha, known for his YouTube coaching for UPSC aspirants, was asked by the reporter whether he would continue to praise Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and Congress’s Rahul Gandhi — AAP’s political rivals, News Laundry reported.
Ojha the started to respond by saying, “Appreciating someone is a sign of positivity,” even drawing an analogy to cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.
However, his response was cut short when an off-camera voice asked the reporter to stop asking “ulta-seedha” (odd) questions.
The reporter, visibly surprised, defended the question as “very normal” and even asked Ojha if he found it objectionable. Ojha hesitated and replied, “The party will decide the line,” before removing his mic and ending the interview.
BJP reacts too
The incident, uploaded on BBC News Hindi’s YouTube channel, sparked immediate reactions online, with many questioning AAP’s commitment to free speech. The BBC described the event as an instance where AAP functionaries “stopped the recording midway” and “did not let the conversation finish".
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari, taking to social media X, said, “The fourth pillar of democracy, media, had asked a simple question to Awadh Ojha who had recently joined the Aam Aadmi Party, but the goons of Aam Aadmi Party threatened the journalist on air and got the camera switched off. The journalist's question to Avadh Ojha was - will you continue praising Modi and Yogi?”
Who is Avadh Ojha?
- Avadh Ojha began his teaching career in 2005, specialising in History, and holds an array of academic qualifications, including MA in Hindi Literature, LLB, MPhil, and PhD in Hindi Literature, an official statement of the AAP said.
- Delhi assembly elections are likely to be held in February next year. The ruling AAP, which won 62 of 70 seats in 2020, is eyeing a third consecutive term.
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