The official Facebook page of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav was unexpectedly suspended on Friday evening, triggering outrage from party leaders, before being restored by Saturday morning.
After his Facebook page was restored on Saturday morning, Akhilesh Yadav shared a quote from Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, “My importance from the whole revolution is to see the most suppressed person of society at the summit of power,” as the nation marked the socialist leader’s birth anniversary.
The Samajwadi Party on Friday accused the BJP-led government of orchestrating the suspension of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s official Facebook page, followed by over eight million users, after the platform reportedly took down the account for posting what sources described as a “violent sexual post.”
The page, which was frequently used by the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister to voice his political opinions and criticise the government, was suspended around 6 p.m., according to PTI.
Reacting sharply, SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand called the move “an attack on democracy,” alleging that the BJP government had imposed an “undeclared emergency” to silence dissent.
SP national secretary Rajeev Rai termed the action “a blow to India’s democratic system,” adding, “If this has been done at the behest of the ruling party, it is a sign of cowardice.”
SP MLA Pooja Shukla also slammed Facebook for suspending the account “without warning or notice,” warning that “Facebook must remember its boundaries, it cannot silence democracy.”
However, BJP sources dismissed the allegation, saying Meta, Facebook’s parent company, took the action and that the government had no role in it.
Yadav, the Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, has faced several alleged governmental actions in recent months, primarily through investigations by central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
These are often portrayed by SP as politically motivated “crackdowns” to suppress opposition ahead of the 2027 UP elections.
