Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee accused a prominent Indian news channel of choosing silence over press freedom after the media outlet deleted a video showing Kailas Vijaybangya abusing a journalist for asking a question on public accountability.

Abhishek wrote on X on Thursday: “We live in a country where a news channel deletes a tweet showing its own journalist being verbally attacked by a ruling party leader simply for asking questions. Instead of standing by their reporter, the channel chooses silence, protecting power rather than press freedom."

"This is what crony capitalism has done to Indian media, where ownership matters more than truth and proximity to power replaces journalistic courage. This is the so called new India. And there is no prize for guessing who owns the channel. Sab changa si!," the TMC leader said.

Earlier on Thursday, Abhishek Banerjee praised the journalist by sharing the video and posted on X, “Well done @Anurag_Dwary. India needs more people like you- committed, courageous and sincere. Now more than ever !”

The post included a link to the news channel’s X handle, where the video had originally appeared.

The controversy centres on an exchange between Madhya Pradesh parliamentary affairs minister Kailas Vijaybangya and journalist Anurag Dwari.

Dwari questioned the minister on compensation for families of those who allegedly died after consuming contaminated water in Indore, a city often projected as the cleanest in the country.

The minister responded with verbal abuse, parts of which were inaudible, before later issuing an apology. The video of the confrontation circulated widely on social media.