New Delhi: Union Minister for Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday denied allegations that the Centre had any involvement in the temporary suspension of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav’s official Facebook account. The minister clarified that the action was taken by Meta in accordance with its own policies.
“Facebook has taken action; the government has no role in this. There was a very abusive post on their account, which is why Facebook suspended it according to their policy. There is no role of the government here,” Vaishnaw told reporters.
Yadav’s Facebook account, which has over 8 million followers, was suspended around 6 PM on Friday. The suspension triggered widespread criticism from SP leaders, who accused the BJP-led government of attempting to stifle dissent. However, Meta later restored the page, stating that it acted “once the issue was brought to our notice.”
Following the restoration, Yadav resumed posting on Saturday morning, marking the birth anniversary of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan with a quote about empowering the most oppressed members of society.
The controversy began after reports suggested that Yadav’s account was flagged for posting a “violent sexual post.” Meta’s review mechanism suspended the page under its community guidelines. However, Yadav said his posts were wrongly flagged, explaining that they concerned the suspicious death of a woman in Ballia and the killing of a journalist.
“I was told that the objection was ‘Adult Sexual Exploitation and Violence’. But the posts were about real incidents—one regarding a woman’s death in Ballia and another about a murdered journalist. I was highlighting the pressure being put on journalists by the BJP,” Yadav told reporters.
Several SP leaders condemned the suspension. MP Rajeev Ravi described it as “an attack on India’s democratic system,” while SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand alleged that the BJP government had imposed an “undeclared emergency.” MLA Pooja Shukla also criticised Facebook, saying it had “crossed its limits” by blocking the account without notice.
SP spokesperson Deepak Ranjan confirmed both the suspension and restoration of the account, while chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary demanded an inquiry into the matter, calling it “a clear attempt to block democratic opinion and truth.”
Despite the incident, Akhilesh Yadav reiterated his focus on grassroots politics, stating, “We will continue to work on the ground and enlighten the people. Our movement is not dependent on social media.”
