Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday came under huge condemnation from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party after a video showed him expressing his displeasure on the rescruitment of his detractors in the newly launched Hindi channel from the TV9 group.

Modi was the chief guest at the launch conclave of the Hindi news channel of the TV9 group on Sunday. Meanwhile, a video of Modi expressing his displeasure to the channel’s CEO Ravi Prakash over the hiring of his detractors has gone viral. In the viral video, Modi is heard telling Prakash, “You’ve hired such kind of people, who have it in their blood to abuse me.”

To which, Prakash replied with a smile on his face, “We are trying to bring about changes.” This prompted a quick intervention from Modi, who said with an ironic smile, “Don’t do that. Let these helpless souls stay alive. It wouldn’t be fun if their souls die.”

Reacting to the video, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala wrote on Twitter, “Sensational and shameful. Modi ji publicly threatens TV 9.”

सनसनीखेज़ व शर्मनाक! मोदी जी की TV 9 को खुली धमकी- TV9 के CEO रवि प्रकाश को आज PM ने कहा-“आपने ऐसे ऐसे लोग भरे हैं जिनके blood में है मुझे गाली देना”। TV9 के CEO रवि प्रकाश ने कहा-“बदलाव ला रहे है इसमें”। जब PM खुले आम धमकियाँ देंगे,

तो पत्रकारीता ‘गोदी मीडिया’ बनेगी ही। pic.twitter.com/VBblebgtQw — Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) March 31, 2019

AAP MLA Alka Labma too shared the video with the transcript of Modi’s conversation with Prakash.

TV9के CEO रवि प्रकाश को आज PMने कहा, आपने ऐसे ऐसे लोग भरे हैं जिनके blood में है मुझे गाली देना,

TV9 के CEO रवि प्रकाश ने कहा,बदलाव ला रहे है इसमें,

PM ने कहा,ऐसा मत करो भाई,जीने दो इन बेचारों को… हाहाहा उनकी आत्मा मर जाएगी तो मज़ा नहीं आएगा… हाहाहा! यानी अभी आत्मा मरी नही? pic.twitter.com/FV3WxSIvi5 — Alka Lamba (@LambaAlka) March 31, 2019

AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh tweeted, “Listen to the country’s Prime Minister, Modi ji. He’s telling TV9’s CEO, ‘You’ve hired such kind of people, who have it in their blood to abuse me.’ When did you carry out the blood test of TV 9 journalists Modi ji? Now, who will you have sacked?”

Modi had attended the launch conclave of TV9 Bharatvarsh on Sunday. Speaking at the event, he had also taken a dig at the channel’s owners as he jokingly quipped, “It’s good that you launched your channel at the end of March. Had you launched on 1 April, then people wouldn’t have believed in you. People take 1 April very seriously.”