'I will break your leg, will drag you out to the road,' Assam BJP minister threatens TV journalist for news on CAA

Assam minister and BJP candidate Pijush Hazarika on Thursday threatened to break a TV journalist's leg and teach him a lesson after the news channel he worked for ran a news item in which the minister's wife allegedly made a controversial statement regarding the CAA.

"I will break your leg, I will drag you out to the streets. In the next five years, I will show you how far I can go," Hazarika was heard warning the television journalist in a recorded telephone conversation on Thursday morning while polling for the second phase of the Assembly election was underway. The telephone conversation was aired by the Assamese satellite news channel, Pratidin Time.

During the call, Hazarika, who is the minister of state for health and a candidate in the Jagiroad Assembly constituency in central Assam's Morigaon district alleged that the news channel ran a portion of a video in which his wife Aimee Baruah made a statement regarding the CAA. Aimee is an actress in Assamese films.

"Who shot the video?" Hazarika was heard asking the journalist, Nazrul Islam. The journalist was heard repeatedly telling the minister that he did not file the news story.

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Polling in Jagiroad was conducted along with 38 other constituencies in Assam on Thursday.

The journalist later lodged an FIR at Jagiroad police station seeking action against the minister.

Hazarika's warning led many in Assam to condemn it on social media.

The Gauhati Press Club said that such an act could not be condoned at any cost.

"It is very unbecoming of a public representative to threaten a journalist with dire consequences, no matter what. At a time when the protection of journalists has become a cause of concern, such an uncalled-for attitude by a public representative comes as a shocker," said GPC general secretary Sanjoy Ray and president Manoj Kumar Nath in a statement on Thursday evening.

"If he (Hazarika) had any complaint related to the content or authenticity of any news report, he could have approached the appropriate authorities for redressal. Such a ‘power-drunk’ attitude on the part of Mr Hazarika has taken politicking to a new low and appropriate action should be taken against the Minister by the Election Commission after verifying the authenticity of the audio clip that had gone viral in social media," the GPC said.

The club also demanded that the safety and security of the journalists concerned should be ensured by the Election Commission and Assam government.