Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit
A political storm has erupted over Robert Vadra, businessman and son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who on Saturday angrily pushed away the mic of a reporter when he was asked about his land deals in Haryana.
Former Congress Member of Parliament and spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit today described the episode as unfortunate and suggested that Mr Vadra "should express sentiments" that should settle the issue.
When asked about the alleged land deals in Haryana at an event in Delhi on Saturday evening, Mr Vadra had snapped, saying, "Are you serious? Are you serious?".
"Are you nuts? What is wrong with you," he added.
Specifically asked if Mr Vadra should apologise, Mr Dikshit said, "I have already said an attempt should be made to reach out and assuage the hurt of the reporter concerned".
He added that the reported attempt to delete the footage was "not so dignified", no matter what the provocation was.
Mr Dikshit also strongly defended his party's silence on the issue, saying, "The matter was between a reporter and a private individual" and the Congress party is nowhere involved.
However, Mr Dikshit walked a tightrope between disapproving Mr Vadra's conduct and defending the Congress's position. He said, "Many times journalists ask aggressive questions, sometimes they cross the Lakshman Rekha. There are people who cannot handle the media".
Reactions have been coming in from across party lines.
The Congress was in fact quick to defend Mr Vadra, with party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala saying, "Repetitive hounding of an individual on an issue that has been conclusively rejected both by a Constitutional body like Election Commission of India as also High Courts and finally the Supreme Court of India is not appropriate."
Senior party leader Digvijaya Singh also questioned the media glare over "a minor incident". In a series of tweets earlier today, the Congress leader said he is "amazed by the media attention given to a minor incident involving Robert Vadhra. Why a private Citizen being unnecessarily hounded?"
The BJP, which has just replaced the Congress as the party in charge of Haryana, has said Mr Vadra's real estate transactions will be investigated to determine if he was allowed sweetheart deals while the Congress was governing the state.
Responding to Mr Vadra's outbursts, Haryana Chief Minister ML Kattar today said "the law will take its course".