Union minister General V K Singh in new row, calls media 'presstitutes'

NEW DELHI: Union minister General V K Singh ran into a fresh row on Tuesday as he was criticized by several political parties for describing the media as 'presstitutes'.

While the Congress said his comments were "deplorable" and showed his "insensitivity", the Left said they reflected the minister's mindset.

The remark, made in a tweet, followed a press briefing in Djibouti in which the former Army chief raised eyebrows for saying that visiting the Pakistani high commission was more exciting than conducting rescue operations in Yemen.

Singh is camping in Djibouti to oversee evacuation of Indians from Yemen. Apparently, he was taking a dig at a section of the media which had criticized him for attending Pakistan Day celebrations.

As social media began commenting about the remark, Singh tweeted, "Friends what do you expect from presstitutes."

Last month, Singh had raked up a controversy by tweeting with the hashtag 'DISGUST' after attending the Pakistan Day celebrations in New Delhi.

Shortly after representing the government at the national day reception at Pakistan High Commission, Singh had issued a series of intriguing tweets defining "disgust" and "duty".