Samajwadi Party Alleges Political Censorship as Akhilesh Yadav's Facebook Account Suspended

Attempts to access the account resulted in error messages.

New Delhi:

The Samajwadi Party has strongly criticized the BJP following the inaccessibility of party president Akhilesh Yadav's Facebook page, describing it as an effort to silence opposition voices.

For several hours on Friday evening, Yadav's social media account remained inaccessible, leading the Samajwadi Party (SP) to claim that it had been suspended due to BJP influence. The SP emphasized its position as the country's third-largest party with 37 MPs in the Lok Sabha, behind only the BJP and Congress.

Users attempting to view the account encountered error messages stating either that the content was unavailable because "the owner only shared it with a small group of people or changed who can see it, or it's been deleted," or that the page could not be found due to possible technical issues.

SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand expressed his criticism on X, writing in Hindi, "The suspension of the Facebook account of the national president of the country's third-largest party, Akhilesh Yadav, is an attack on democracy. The BJP government has imposed an undeclared emergency in the country, where it wants to suppress every voice raised in opposition. However, the Samajwadi Party will continue to oppose the anti-people policies of the BJP."

In his conversation with NDTV, Chaand further stated that the BJP does not respect democratic principles and is attempting to undermine them.

"We are exploring legal options. We will not be intimidated and will continue raising issues affecting the people," he asserted.

Similarly, party MP Rajeev Rai condemned the action, stating that suppressing voices is a strategic error.

"Blocking the account of the leader of the third largest party in the country's parliament, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Honourable Shri @yadavakhilesh ji, by Facebook is not only condemnable but also a blow to India's democratic system. If this has been done at the behest of the ruling party, it is a sign of cowardice. Trying to suppress the voice of socialists is a mistake," he posted.

These allegations emerge as Bihar prepares for Assembly elections, which are considered a significant test for the BJP, currently governing the state in coalition with Nitish Kumar's JDU and other NDA allies.

Previously, the SP had joined other INDIA alliance members, including the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal, in accusing the Election Commission of collaborating with the BJP to facilitate vote manipulation. Yadav himself had made similar allegations.

Both the Election Commission and the BJP have rejected these accusations, labeling them as unfounded.