Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)
Mangaluru, May 5: A group of BJP workers allegedly gheraoed noted senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai and obstructed his work when he was at Nehru Maidan to cover the election campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is learnt that while Sardesai was reporting on the rally with a walk-through (walking while reporting), BJP representatives got in the way and obstructed his work chanting 'Modi, Modi'.
It is said that Sardesai while reporting said that something about BJP and RSS that infuriarated the BJP representatives, who lost their cool and surrounded journalist, and continuously interrupted and disturbed him with shouts of 'Modi, Modi'.
Sources said that despite the obstruction, Sardesai continued his reporting for about half an hour by shifting from one spot to another.
Seeing the crowd surrounding Rajdeep Sardesai and chanting 'Modi Modi', former MLC Monappa Bhandary urged the party representatives and the media to cooperate.
Rajdeep Sardesi did not wait for Modi's speech to conclude and decided to leave the ground. BJP representatives however continued to chant 'Modi, Modi' and expressed their agitation even after Sardesai left the premises.
In a tweet, Sardesai said, "A Modi rally is like an exercise in mass hypnosis. I try to ask the crowd a question, they simply shout with raucous glee, 'Modi, Modi' ; the music on stage is like we are in a rock show not a political rally..(sic)."