Saturday 24th Jan, 2026
Srinagar, May 8: Demanding action against BJP in light of CCTV footage purported to show the saffron party leaders attempting to bribe journalists in Leh to allegedly get favourable coverage during Lok Sabha polls, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that the integrity and honesty of Leh journalists is a shining example for their fellow journalists.
A video has gone viral on social media in which BJP leaders could be seen handing over envelopes, allegedly containing money, to journalists in Leh. However, the authenticity of the video could not be verified.
The Press Club of Leh (PCL) has alleged that the envelopes had money in it and has filed a complaint against BJP leaders for allegedly offering bribe to some members of the club on May 2.
“In light of the CCTV footage purported to show BJP leaders attempting to bribe journalists in Leh I’m retweeting my original tweet with the letter of complaint by the Press Club Leh. Action must follow,” Mr Abdullah, who is the Vice President of National Conference (NC), wrote on micro-blogging site twitter.
“This is the CCTV footage of the alleged bribery attempt. Kudos to the journalists in Leh, their integrity & honesty is a shining example for their fellow journalists,” Mr Abdullah.
In the police complaint, the Press Club of Leh in Police Station Leh alleged that BJP leaders, including its State President Ravinder Raina and former MLC Vikram Randhawa, ‘tried to bribe media persons on May 2 after a press conference to use their platform to influence the outcome of the election’.
“We didn’t accept the offer and rejected it out rightly and showed our anguish at their attempt,” the complaint said.
“The press fraternity of Ladakh strongly condemns this,” the complaint said and asked police to file an FIR against Mr Raina and Mr Randhawa for allegedly violating Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and for trying to bribe media.
However, BJP has denied the allegations.
UNI