Reacting to Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde's comment about 'crushing' the media, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said Shinde's comment was an outcome of the depression prevailing within the Congress due to their defeat.
"They are basically depressed about their defeat, and therefore they are saying such things. It is an outcome of their frustration and depression," said Naqvi.
"They think that corruption and bad governance is their constitutional right, and when someone tries to speak up against it they say such things," he said.
"This is not the first time that they have said something like this. Earlier, Shinde had spoken about saffron terrorism in Jaipur, and his party had also made fun of plates of the poor," he added.
Read: Sushilkumar Shinde threatens to 'crush' media indulging in anti-Congress propaganda
Shinde on Monday said: "Certain elements in the media orchestrate 'nasty designs'. Since I'm also in charge of the intelligence wing, I know where this is coming from."
"We have been working silently to place checks on them, but there was a campaign from them over the past four months. We are now going to crush these elements in the electronic media spreading false propaganda," Shinde said at a Youth Congress event in Maharashtra's Solapur.
{{/usCountry}}"We have been working silently to place checks on them, but there was a campaign from them over the past four months. We are now going to crush these elements in the electronic media spreading false propaganda," Shinde said at a Youth Congress event in Maharashtra's Solapur.
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Later, Shinde clarified his remarks on crushing the elements of media for spreading false propaganda against the Congress.
"My comments were on social media. It was with regards to the issue related to the Northeast students who were being targeted in Hyderabad and Karnataka. It was not on journalists," Shinde.
Read: Shinde does a U-turn, says he was referring to social media
Watch video: Was referring to social media, says Shinde