BJP doing politics of intimidating people: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday accused the BJP of doing politics of intimidating people, a day after Amazon Prime Video's India Originals Head recorded her statement here in connection with an FIR over the alleged derogatory depiction of Hindu deities in web series "Tandav".

"Today, the way the BJP government is strangling the freedom of expression, it shows that the BJP, which practices politics by intimidating people, is itself scared," Yadav charged in a tweet in Hindi tagging a photo of Amazon Prime head Aparna Purohit, while she was going to the Hazratganj police station here for recording her statement on Tuesday.

"Whether it is a matter of arrest on a tweet or any web series created in the name of entertainment, considering women as weak the BJP is lodging FIR against them," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister charged.

Purohit got her statements recorded at the Hazratganj Police Station as per the court’s direction. Some questions were asked and if need be she will be called again. The probe is on in the case related to the web series, Deputy Commissioner of Police Somen Barma had said.

The Allahabad High Court had earlier this month ordered no coercive action be taken against Purohit in the case.

In January, an FIR was lodged at the police station against Purohit, series director Ali Abbas, producer Himanshu Krishna Mehra, writer Gaurav Solanki, and an unidentified person.

The nine-episode political thriller starring Bollywood A-listers Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, started streaming on the platform in January.

In Uttar Pradesh, FIRs have been registered against the show in Greater Noida and Shahjahanpur also, besides Lucknow.