'Rahul grabbed my hand, pushed me': Pregnant journalist alleges assault during protest

Visual of Rahul Gandhi allegedly pushing female journalist

NEW DELHI: A woman journalist, Richa Parashar, who said she was three months pregnant, has alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi 'grabbed her hand' and 'pulled her' forward before his security personnel pushed her away while she was covering the INDIA bloc's protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on October 12.

Parashar claimed she fell down the steps, landed on her stomach, injured her hand and knees, and broke her phone.

"I extended the mic and they made a gesture so I move it but I saw other mic IDs being pushed so I also put mine…Rahul Gandhi moved forward with a nasty expression, he grabbed my hand and pulled me forward and then his bodyguards pushed me…I fell down the stairs of Supreme Court, falling on my face," Parashar said in a video recorded from her hospital bed, with BJP leaders around her.

Earlier, Parashar had shared a video on Instagram claiming she was 'pushed by the man who says Smash the Patriarchy'. She also alleged that the Congress MP pushed her cameraperson, who then fell on top of her, followed by several others amid the commotion due to the massive crowd.

"I did not ask him any questions nor did I say anything to him. I fell down the stairs and my cameraman fell on me and top of him 4 people also fell. I fell on my stomach. I got hurt on my hand and my phone broke, my knees also got hurt," she claimed.

Parashar further alleged that Rahul's supporters shouted at her instead of helping her get up. She questioned the Congress's stand on women's safety and urged media organisations that had recorded the incident to release their footage.

BJP alleges Rahul 'thrashed' pregnant journalist

Earlier, the BJP accused Rahul of manhandling the journalist during the protest march, alleging that she was injured and hospitalised after the incident. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused Rahul of grabbing the journalist by the shoulder and pushing her to the ground.

He claimed she had been hospitalised following the incident and said BJP leaders had visited her. “Rahul Gandhi, who speaks of ‘smashing the patriarchy’, behaved like a goon today,” Bhandari alleged, accusing the Congress of failing to help the journalist.

He also invoked Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s slogan, “Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon”, and urged women to take note of the incident. BJP Delhi vice-president Rajesh Bhatia said the journalist’s sister had approached him around 8pm on Monday, saying Parashar had been injured and needed medical attention.

Bhatia said he contacted BJP MLA Umang Bajaj and local leader Prateek Sharma, who accompanied him to the hospital.

Bajaj condemned the alleged conduct, saying public representatives should answer journalists’ questions rather than manhandle them. Congress leader Alka Lamba, however, rejected the allegations in a post on X, accusing the BJP of trying to manufacture propaganda.

She questioned the timeline of the incident and the journalist’s subsequent hospital visit. She also raised questions about an X-ray reportedly being conducted despite Parashar saying she was pregnant.

Other Congress leaders and supporters shared videos of the commotion, arguing that the footage did not clearly show Rahul pushing Parashar. The incident took place during the INDIA bloc’s march to the Supreme Court over allegations concerning electoral rolls and CEC Gyanesh Kumar.