Row after Maharashtra BJP chief says 'invite journos for chai' to avoid negative press
Maharashtra BJP unit, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, has been facing flak for asking his party cadres to take out media persons for 'tea' to ensure that they don't write anything negative against the BJP till the 2024 polls.
Bawankule's audio clip, where he is speaking to his cadres, has gone viral in the state. «Journalists should not write against us till 2024.
To ensure that, take them out for tea...when I say take them out for tea, you might have understood what I mean to say is take them out to eat… You need to keep them in good humour. There should not be a single story against us,» Bawankule said while addressing party workers in Ahmednagar on Sunday.
According to Bawankule «small time video journalists» and those running news portals have «some times» created «nuisance» and highlighted a minor incident «as if some big blast has taken place».
To avoid this, the state BJP president said party workers should figure out the electronic and print journalists in a booth and ensure that the «good work done by the government is disseminated to the people» through these journalists.
