The News Minute | August 27, 2014 | 2.07 pm ISTThree weeks ago “rumours†began in Delhi that the Prime Minister who was staunchly against corruption rebuked the son of a senior Cabinet minister for allegedly taking a bribe, in a private meeting in early August. In two days, the rumour gathered further traction/ credence, and most journalists were told that the person in question was Pankaj Singh, Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s son.This was supposed to be a closed door meeting in which the PM, the Home Minister and his son were present, (the Home Minister apparently was an uninvited guest). For almost a week, no one reported on it, as obviously, it was just a rumour.Then questions began to be raised about who leaked the information, was it true, and if true, who stood to gain from the leak? Slowly, some journalists started putting out nuggets about the rumour.Some information was put out on social media and it also appeared in a leading newspaper’s column- no names taken.Na khayenge, naa khane denge. @pmoindia reported to have ticked off young son of senior minister for taking bribe... http://t.co/LGWovsTyR3— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) August 17, 2014One more week passed, and there was still no way to go ahead with the story, as there was no confirmation coming forth from any source. Also, the person in question was the Home Minister’s son.A lot of people scratched their heads trying to figure how the story could be reported. Then someone had the brilliant idea, of attributing it to a third source: Not the PMO, not the senior minister or his son, but an unconnected but related source. When it comes to the BJP, what better third source than the RSS?TV channels broke the story on Wednesday saying Rajnath Singh was unhappy with the developments and that he had had a word with the RSS. Within hours, both Rajnath Singh and the Prime Minister’s office were forced to reply. Finally, the rumour got a face and legs.Rajnath Singh, who was seen as a competitor to Narendra Modi, before the latter was declared as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate is reportedly upset that someone in BJP is trying to defame him and family. So the obvious attention is on who leaked the story? But let’s not forget the bigger issue, the bribe. Was it paid or not? If yes, by whom?Speaking about rumours, there is another one doing the rounds in Delhi that PM Modi discouraged a politician from spending too much time with a particular businessman. The trajectory of that rumour is awaited. Read: The Cover up is Worse than the Crime; the trajectory of a rumour: Part 2