OCCUPIED SRINAGAR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and member of the so-called Kashmir Assembly from Jammu’s RS Pura constituency, Gagan Bhagat has called up a journalist and questioned him over a news report.

In a five-and-a-half minute audio clip viral on social media, the BJP leader reportedly abused a journalist, working for a newspaper, for publishing the news story on a development project in his constituency, the Kashmir Media Service (KMS) reported on Thursday.

The BJP leader was annoyed with the journalist for not mentioning his name in the news story about the construction of road link.

The project was sanctioned few years back but stalled due to paucity of funds and after intervention of District Development Commissioner, Jammu, the work was resumed few days back.

In the audio clip Bhagat argues with the journalist for giving credit to the district development commissioner instead of him for the work and warns him of dire consequences for ignoring him.

“I’m Gagan Bhagat. If you ignore me I will file complain against you and eat up your job too,” the BJP leader can be heard saying in the audio clip. However, the journalist tries hard to pacify him but all in vain. “I talked to President of Press Club, Jammu, too. I will not spare you. I fight for this road a lot in assembly and outside too but you gave credit to the DC,” he can be heard as saying.

Upon this, the journalist said, “The DC is also of your government not anyone outsiders. If you don’t like presentation of the news story, go to public and calm the people who protested few days ago for starting the work on the road, which was resumed after intervention of district administration only.”

These words of the journalist raise the temperature of Gagan Bhagat even more. Then he threatens to file complain against the journalist and starts abusing in loud volume, some of words are inaudible.—NNI