"When Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister and (P) Chidambaram was the Finance Minister, the media used to be very free in criticising them. But now a days, (I) do not know why they are not speaking from the heart," he said at a day-long party convention amid cries of "shame, shame" from a section of audience.
Telling his party workers not to use the word, he said journalists do feel "frightened" because it is a matter of keeping their jobs and as they are mindful of phone calls from higher ups.
Gandhi said media might have shown him in poor light or written against him but he would never scare them or work against their interests.
Describing institutions like RBI, Election Commission and judiciary as "soul" of India, Gandhi alleged that they as well as media are being "undermined" by the present government.