Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has defended his party workers who attacked journalists in his presence in Moradabad on Thursday.
Breaking his silence on the Moradabad incident, Akhilesh Yadav said the "attack was made by the media persons at someone's behest".
Defending his party workers' action, Yadav claimed a conspiracy was hatched to trap him and SP workers in the lift. Lashing out at the media, he claimed that the press was "attacking samajwadis and that such attacks would continue till elections".
"Did a normal attack happen on us in Moradabad? First, they cut off supply to the lift and it did not become news. Who shut off the power supply to the lift, trapping us inside? And what the media did, on whose direction did they do that? These attacks will not stop till elections are over. Samajwadis must be ready to face such attacks," he said.
On Thursday, Samajwadi Party workers attacked reporters in the presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav. The video of the incident shows how Akhilesh Yadav's security personnel along with SP workers heckled media persons in full public view at a hotel in Moradabad while the former chief minister watched on.
In multiple videos of the attack doing rounds, the SP workers can be seen heckling a reporter who attempted to pose questions to Akhilesh Yadav following which the reporter falls to the ground. The SP workers, sporting red caps, can be seen pushing media persons following which Akhilesh Yadav is heard telling the media that the reporter was working for a 'BJP's channel'.
Slamming the incident, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi hit out at SP's hooliganism, quoting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's words. Highlighting how the SP workers were manhandling the media in the party chief's presence, he said that the party should 'drown in shame'.
Similarly, UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu called SP's assault on media persons as an insult to "Lohia's samajwad" while condemning the attack.
An FIR has been registered against Akhilesh Yadav and 10 unnamed Samajwadi Party workers in Moradabad.
Akhilesh Yadav has condemned the FIR as "a symbol of frustration of the ruling party BJP which is set to lose the next assembly election," he tweeted on Saturday.
"We will publish the FIR for the information of the common people and if need be we will also put up hoardings in Lucknow carrying the contents of the FIR," Akhilesh added in the tweet.