Does Rahul agree with Meenakshi's Bill on media, asks BJP

BJP on Tuesday sought to know whether Rahul Gandhi agrees with the contents of the controversial Bill which was scheduled to be moved by his close aide Meenakshi Natarajan and is allegedly aimed at gagging the media.

"We still do not know with what intention this Bill was to be moved in Parliament. If it has the personal views of the MP, then she can surely bring it as a Private Members' Bill," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters.

He claimed BJP has always stood for freedom of the press and does not believe there should be any attempt to gag the media.

Natarajan, who is Congress MP from Mandsaur and is considered close to Rahul Gandhi, was scheduled introduce a Private Members' Bill last Friday.

Called the "Print and Electronic Media Standards and Regulation Bill, 2012", it aims at establishing a regulatory authority with powers to impose a ban or suspend coverage of an event or an incident that may pose a threat to national security from foreign or internal sources. However, she was not present in the Lok Sabha and so the Bill was not introduced.

Asked about its provisions and whether BJP felt it reflected the views of Gandhi, Rudy said "since she is close to Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, it would be better if he himself clears the air on the issue."