Author: Opindia Staff
Publication: Opindia.com
Date: December 29, 2018
URL:      https://www.opindia.com/2018/12/christian-michel-mrs-gandhi-sonia-son-r-rahul-journalists-silent-defend-congress/

While it is implicit who Christian Michel is referring to, it is rather amusing to see the journalists who claim to ‘speak truth to power’ are either silent on the issue or are very assiduously evading the identities of ‘Mrs Gandhi’ and ‘Italian lady’s son R’.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has mentioned to the court that the alleged middleman Christian Michel in his testimony has spoken about one ‘Mrs Gandhi’ and ‘italian lady’s son R’. However, the media and Congress loyalists have taken no time to confound the enormity of this reference by speculating who these personalities could be.

Congress leader RPN Singh, perhaps aware of the potential ramifications such reference to Mrs Gandhi and her son could mean to party’s fortunes in the coming Lok Sabha elections has used the tried and tested formula of blaming it as opposition antics to malign the Gandhi family. Derisively mocking the PM, he insinuated that chowkidaar is trying to pressurise the government agencies to defame the Gandhi family.
......................................................................
ANI @ANI
 RPN Singh Congress on ED says Christian Michel has taken the name of "Mrs Gandhi": There is pressure on Michel to name a particular family, why is the chowkidaar trying to pressurize the govt agencies to name a family? BJP script writers are working over time. #Agustawestland
15:22 - 29 Dec 2018
......................................................................

Posting a sharp rejoinder to Abhijeet Majumder’s tweet, journalist Tanushree Pandey claimed that Christian Michel has mentioned only “Mrs Gandhi”, whether it’s Sonia Gandhi or someone else is yet to be clear. A section of media is still speculating who ‘Mrs Gandhi’ is and who is ‘Italian lady’s son R’.
......................................................................
Tanushree Pandey @TanushreePande
 Sir, as you tweet this, I'm sitting inside the courtroom wondering when did this happen? ED Counsel very clearly said Christian Michel made a reference of "Mrs Gandhi" during interrogation. Whether Sonia or someone else is yet to be disclosed.

Abhijit Majumder @abhijitmajumder
BIG NEWSBREAK ON @MyNation: Agusta-Westland middleman Christian Michel has taken Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s name during interrogation, Enforcement Directorate (ED) tells Patiala House Court
15:33 - 29 Dec 2018 · New Delhi, India
......................................................................

A news anchor from India Today quickly jumped to Pandey’s defence and said that Pandey was just “sticking to facts”. Perhaps she believes that Mrs Gandhi could be another Gandhi other than Sonia Gandhi who is also an Italian lady with a son ‘R’ “who could become the PM”.
......................................................................
Poulomi Saha @PoulomiMSaha
 Looking at the trolling against this tweet, I’m just wondering that if a journalist doesn’t stick to facts, the aspersion cast is he/she is “paid”. Hypocritical isn’t it? Shouldn’t we all just accept that we’d rather pick & ‘choose’ our ‘facts’, truth be damned? #trollbait

Tanushree Pandey @TanushreePande
Sir, as you tweet this, I'm sitting inside the courtroom wondering when did this happen? ED Counsel very clearly said Christian Michel made a reference of "Mrs Gandhi" during interrogation. Whether Sonia or someone else is yet to be disclosed. https://twitter.com/abhijitmajumder/status/1078949777813979136 …
5:14 PM - Dec 29, 2018
......................................................................

Another self-proclaimed liberal, Sanjukta Basu is trying hard to defend the indefensible. Known for purveying fake news and biased propaganda, Sanjukta is requesting everyone to not fall for fake news of Sonia Gandhi being the unknown identity Mrs Gandhi claimed by Michel.
......................................................................
Sanjukta @sanjukta
 No. Christian Michel didn't take name of Sonia Gandhi. He didn't take any name at all inside Courtroom. Don't fall for fake news and strategic news. Check for inverted commas. Media is reporting what ED is claiming, "Michel said Mrs Gandhi during interrogation"
16:00 - 29 Dec 2018
......................................................................

Then there were others who were busy tweeting inane things to shield themselves from the trauma of these revelations. The troll masquerading as a journalist, Swati Chaturvedi, was busy discussing more important things like nationalist symbols but has not uttered a single word on the mention of ‘Mrs Gandhi’ by Michel. It’s ironic to see journalists claiming to hold the political parties accountable are conspicuously silent on gross corruption.
......................................................................
Swati Chaturvedi @bainjal
 Agree absolutely Sadhavi plus why cede national symbols to the Sangh

Sadhavi Khosla @sadhavi
There is no constitutional or legal obligation on any citizen about any chant of the nation. But it’s natural for citizens to get emotional feel for their country-motherland; esp since we were under the british rule for over 200 yrs.
Bharat Mata Ki Jai is our emotional feeling.
17:37 - 29 Dec 2018
......................................................................

The man who claims himself a scholar, Ram Guha, didn’t find it important enough to discuss the identity of Mrs Gandhi and ‘Italian lady’s son R’ who played instrumental roles in the AgustaWestland scam as purported by Michel. Guha was more interested in self-promotion than referring to Michel’s disclosures.
......................................................................
Ramachandra Guha @Ram_Guha
 Pleased to report that The American Interest has chosen GANDHI: THE YEARS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD as one of their top books of 2018:https://www.the-american-interest.com/2018/12/28/the-top-books-of-2018/ …
18:34 - 29 Dec 2018

Twitter Ads information and privacy
The Top Books of 2018 - The American Interest
A short guide to some of the best reads from the past year.
the-american-interest.com
......................................................................

Shivam Vij who claims to be an unbiased conscientious journalist has occupied himself with more pressing concerns like sharing a parody about Modi’s gaffes than to debate about Michel’s revelations.
......................................................................
Shivam Vij @DilliDurAst
 "Vanakam Puducherry" | Modi Singing About Embarrassment | Parody https://youtu.be/_JkQJcXx-wk
18:25 - 29 Dec 2018 · Medchal, India
......................................................................

Finally, the Wire’s Rohini Singh is talking about the dropping Mercury while she is not bothered by the rising temperature caused by Michel’s revelations.
......................................................................
Rohini Singh @rohini_sgh
 Another cold day...
18:35 - 29 Dec 2018
......................................................................