Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda has extended an apology to India Today US correspondent Rohit Sharma, who was reportedly “assaulted” by Congress workers at Dallas in Texas when he was interviewing Pitroda ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s US visit.  

The channel had said that on September 7, Congress workers close to Gandhi attacked Sharma, forcefully confined him, snatched his phone, and forcefully deleted his interview with Pitroda as soon as he asked the question of whether Gandhi would raise the issue of the alleged threat to Bangladeshi Hindus during his US visit. 

Sharma said that he was “really shocked” by the incident, which was also an “invasion of privacy”, and he even wanted to dial 911 but did not have his phone. He said the party workers gave him back his phone 20-30 minutes later after they had deleted the interview. “We shouldn’t be feeling threatened…It is about freedom of press and how it should be respected.”

Sharma said on-air that Pitroda called him to formally apologise on behalf of the Congress for the “unfortunate incident” and assured that a thorough investigation would be undertaken, stressing his commitment to press freedom and emphasising that such attacks were unacceptable. 

An India Today report quoted Sharma as saying, “My final question changed everything: ‘Will Rahul Gandhi raise the issue of Hindus being killed in Bangladesh during his meetings with US lawmakers?’ Before Sam could fully answer, beginning with, ‘It’s up to Rahul and the lawmakers to decide what’s relevant I can’t speak on their behalf but…’ chaos erupted. One person in the room yelled that the question was ‘controversial’, and others joined in, escalating their tone. Then, a member of Rahul's advance team seized my phone and began shouting.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also criticised the Congress over the incident, saying that a media person from an Indian newspaper had “faced cruelty in America”. Modi was speaking at a election rally in Jammu’s Doda. “On American soil, an Indian son, and that too a journalist who works for the Indian Constitution, was locked in a room, and the way he was treated…Are you improving Indian prestige by beating up an Indian journalist on American soil? Those who claim to be champions of freedom of speech indulged in brutality.”

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