Akhilesh Yadav accuses BJP of trying to silence journalists

Lucknow, Sep 13 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav alleged on Sunday that the Uttar Pradesh government and administration were targeting an "honest woman journalist" merely because she wanted to ask Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a question at a press conference.

In a post in Hindi on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the BJP wanted journalists to remain "silent listeners" and alleged that courageous journalism challenging "authoritarianism and cronyism" could no longer be suppressed.

"The Uttar Pradesh BJP's government and administration, which pose a challenge to both 'Nari Vandan' and 'independent journalism', have gone after the life of an honest woman journalist simply because she wanted to ask the chief minister a question," Yadav said.

He said the BJP wanted to turn journalists into mute listeners. "The voice of courageous journalism that challenges authoritarianism and cronyism can no longer be suppressed," he said. Yadav urged journalists' organisations and the Women's Commission to take cognisance of the matter, describing the alleged incident as "highly condemnable".

Journalist Divya Srivastava told a channel that she had asked Adityanath a question. "I was surrounded at the BJP office, threatened repeatedly and told that a bulldozer would be sent to my house," she said.

She claimed that the channel where she worked removed her. "I am nowhere now. I am very scared."

Srivastava, who was in tears, alleged that "the BJP trolls" were making indecent comments against her.

On Saturday, the SP chief said press conferences in the BJP regime had turned from a "dialogue" into a "monologue". Yadav had said if journalists were only expected to listen to statements and had no right to ask questions, such events should be called "press monologues" rather than press conferences.

His remarks came after Adityanath addressed a press conference at the BJP's state headquarters on Saturday, along with state BJP chief and Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, to announce the month-long "Seva Sankalp Abhiyan" from September 17 to October 17 to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 25 years in public service.

Yadav also shared a video on X purportedly showing Divya Srivastava trying to ask Adityanath a question as the chief minister was leaving after the press conference. In the video, the journalist is purportedly seen clarifying her position and saying she had asked questions from opposition parties as well.