Akhilesh Yadav's Facebook account restored; MeitY says no role in 'suspension'

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav's official Facebook account, which was allegedly suspended earlier, has been restored, party sources said on Saturday.

Sources in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) told PTI that Yadav's account was blocked by Facebook, and not by the government.

Yadav took to his account and shared a quote by Jayaprakash Narayan on Saturday morning, to commemorate the socialist leader's birth anniversary.

"By 'Sampoorn Kraanti' (complete revolution), I mean seeing the most oppressed person in society at the pinnacle of power," the post read.

While SP spokesperson Deepak Ranjan confirmed the suspension and subsequent restoration of the social media page, the party's chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI, "I am not yet aware if it has been restored, but the main issue is who was behind this suspension? The act was a clear attempt to block democratic opinion and truth." SP leaders earlier accused the BJP government of imposing an "undeclared emergency to suppress every opposing voice", following the alleged suspension of the account with more than 8 million followers.

The sources said it was suspended on Friday, at around 6 pm.

The page is regularly used by the SP chief to share his views, highlight the government's "shortcomings", and connect with supporters.

Reacting to the suspension of the account, SP Lok Sabha MP from Ghosi, Rajeev Rai had said in a post on X in Hindi, "Facebook's blocking of the account of the leader of the third-largest party in India's Parliament, the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, honourable @yadavakhilesh, is not only condemnable but also an attack on India's democratic system. If this happened at the behest of the ruling party, it is a sign of cowardice." He had also warned that attempting to suppress socialists' voice is a "mistake".

SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand, in a post on X, had alleged that an undeclared emergency had been imposed by the BJP government.

"But the Samajwadi Party will continue to oppose the BJP's anti-people policies," he said.