Ahmedabad, 14 June, 2012

Journalists present in the press conference of Congress led UPA’s Group of Ministers on Media couldn’t believe how a union minister, that too a minister of Information and Broadcasting department can suggest media persons what should the ask! Soni suggested that the journalists of Gujarat should ask the ministers about centre’s contribution to Gujarat and the schemes the centre runs in Gujarat, the scheme of the centre that are known in Gujarat with different names etc.

In a reply to one of the questions asked to her, union minister Ambika Soni started saying what she was told about the media persons in Ahmedabad. She then went on to say what the journalists should ask to the three ministers present before them. One English TV channel correspondent protested Ambika Soni’s “dictation” on what should be asked to her and other ministers in this press conference. Later one journalist from leading Gujarati daily stood up and asked Ambika Soni the question she wanted to be asked. Soni then clarified that she didn’t want to dictate the journalist what they should ask. Soni went on to say further that during her tenure she had not stopped advertisement to any publisher and bla bla. The sequence is presented in the video above.