In Lucknow, 2 FIRs against SP media cell’s Twitter account over a week

The Samajwadi Party media cell’s Twitter account has been named in two FIRs, filed in Lucknow within less than 10 days of each other, for allegedly posting offensive tweets. While the first complaint was filed by a journalist who is seen as being close to the BJP on November 23, the second on December 1 was lodged by a lawyer who is affiliated with the BJP’s legal cell as well as the RSS.

Pramod Kumar Pandey, the second complainant who practices at the Lucknow High Court, said he had also sent a request to Twitter on December 4 to block the official handle of the SP’s media cell.

Notably, after the first FIR was filed on November 23, the police arrested former News Nation journalist Anil Yadav, and alleged his role in the allegedly offensive tweets. While the SP and Yadav denied any connection with each other, the journalist was released only on November 30 after spending five days in custody. He had previously been in the news for his allegation that News Nation issued instructions to reporters to not be critical of the BJP and to bring in communal angles to reports. 

Manish Pandey, the Lucknow resident editor of local channel News One India, had alleged that the SP media cell targeted him after he objected to their Twitter account ascribing political motives to the Gorakhnath mutt in Gorakhpur – headed by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath. The party’s media cell had posted a Hindustan report alleging that BJP workers had helped illegal mining accused, and asked what the mutt’s share was in such activities.

While the first case at Hazratganj police station was filed under IPC sections 153-A, 295-A, 500 , 505 (2) and 504, apart from section 66 of the IT Act, the second FIR on December 1 was lodged at Vibhuti Khand under section 67 of the IT Act and Section 505 (2) of the IPC.

On a daily basis, the Samajwadi Party’s official Twitter handle regularly takes a dig at the BJP government in UP, while the media cell’s Twitter account is usually replete with posts about the party’s poll campaigns and comments by the leadership. 

Asked for comment, SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told Newslaundry that he wasn’t aware of the issue. On being asked who runs the official Twitter handle of media cell, Chaudhary said he’s not familiar with that either. 

Police are probing the matter. Vibhuti Khand police station SHO Ram Singh said the accused behind the media cell’s Twitter handle are yet to be identified. He refused to comment on the arrest of Anil Yadav and whether the police will question him in this case too.

However, Pramod Kumar Pandey said, “Those authorised to run the Twitter handle are the ones responsible and the Samajwadi Party must have delegated someone to manage the Twitter handle.”

Asked about the mention of “unknown persons” in his complaint, he said that SP president Akhilesh Yadav and other party leaders “regularly like and retweet posts from this handle”. “The case can have legal implications for them as well.” He said that the RSS is a “global organisation known for social work” and “slandering” it on Twitter is “equivalent to communalising the environment”.

The second case

On December 1, days before the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll, the SP media cell tweeted, “Just like Bhallaladeva’s chariot, we are running a campaign that exposes and humiliates those from the BJP; those BJP leaders who are interested can continue with foul-mouthing. Each of them will be dealt with as their turn comes.” 

Bhallaladeva is the primary antagonist in the Baahubali fantasy film series who schemes against warrior prince Baahubali and tries to outperform him in battle with advanced weapons.

After this tweet, UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi asked if the SP’s media cell was “referring to Akhilesh Yadav” through Bhallaladeva’s analogy. The media cell then called Tripathi as “those born out of Rahim’s cave” – an indirect reference to the BJP-led government in Haryana granting 40-day parole to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh ahead of the Adampur assembly bypoll last month. 

The SP media cell called Tripathi as “someone who is used to smelling cow dung and is familiar with the likes of Sangh members and Chinmayanand and belongs to Ram Rahim’s cave where section 377 like activities happen.” 

BJP leader and former union minister Swami Chinmayanand is an accused in a rape case. Section 377 of the IPC criminalising same sex was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018.

“After the initial tweet, I was only trying to raise the issue of dynasty politics, while referring to Akhilesh, which is when the said Twitter handle resorted to abuses that shouldn’t be deemed fit for any social media platform,” Tripathi told Newslaundry. 

After the SP media cell called BJP members pimps while sharing a report about a local BJP leader allegedly molesting a woman in Moradabad, UP BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla responded by posting about former  SP minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati’s conviction in a gangrape case. 

Asked if BJP spokespersons are considering separate legal action, Shukla said, “response can be given in a civil language” and “the court led by the public will decide on this”. 

With inputs from Vivek Mishra.