Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has attacked Yogi Adityanath over the arrests of journalists accused of defaming him, saying the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister was “behaving foolishly”.
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi said: “If every journalist who files a false report or peddles fake, vicious RSS/BJP sponsored propaganda about me is put in jail, most newspapers/ news channels would face a severe staff shortage.”
If every journalist who files a false report or peddles fake, vicious RSS/BJP sponsored propaganda about me is put in jail, most newspapers/ news channels would face a severe staff shortage.
The UP CM is behaving foolishly & needs to release the arrested journalists. https://t.co/KtHXUXbgKS
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 11, 2019
Journalist Prashant Kanojia was arrested on Saturday for sharing an objectionable post against the Uttar Pradesh chief minister on social media. Kanojia had shared a video on Twitter and Facebook where a woman is seen speaking to reporters of various media organisations outside the CM office claiming that she had sent a marriage proposal to the CM.
Kanojia’s wife later moved the Supreme Court, saying the arrest was “illegal” and “unconstitutional”. The apex court is at present hearing the case.
Earlier, Ishika Singh, head of a Noida-based news channel, and Anuj Shukla, one of the editors of the channel, were arrested for allegedly making “objectionable comments” and “propagating defamatory content” against Adityanath.
On Sunday, the fourth person was arrested for defaming the chief minister.