The official Facebook account of Samajwadi Party (SP) Akhilesh Yadav was suddenly suspended on Friday (10th October) evening, leading to a strong political reaction from his party.
The page, followed by more than eight million people, was taken down around 6 p.m., according to reports. Soon after, the Samajwadi Party accused the BJP-led government of being behind the move, calling it another attempt to “suppress opposition voices.”
However, sources clarified that Meta, Facebook’s parent company, took the action on its own and that the government had no role in the suspension. According to these sources, the page was taken down for allegedly posting a “violent sexual post.”
Akhilesh Yadav’s Facebook page was regularly used to share his opinions, criticise government policies, and connect with his supporters across Uttar Pradesh. The suspension has now turned into a major political controversy, with SP leaders calling it an “attack on democracy.”
SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand wrote on X, “Suspending the Facebook account of respected Akhilesh Yadav ji, the national president of the country’s third-largest party, is an attack on democracy. The BJP government has imposed an undeclared emergency where every opposing voice is being suppressed. But the Samajwadi Party will continue to fight against BJP’s anti-people policies.”
National Secretary Rajeev Rai also condemned Facebook’s move, calling it a “blow to India’s democratic system.” He said, “If this has been done at the behest of the ruling party, it shows cowardice. Trying to silence the voice of socialists is a big mistake.”
SP MLA from Lucknow North, Pooja Shukla, expressed her anger, saying Facebook had suspended Akhilesh Yadav’s account without any warning or notice. “This is not just any account, this is the voice of millions. Facebook must remember its boundaries it cannot silence democracy. Such arrogance will not be tolerated,” she wrote on X.
Another SP leader, Pawan Pandey, pointed out her views, accusing Facebook of trying to suppress Akhilesh Yadav’s voice. “This is a vile attempt to silence democracy. Facebook has crossed its limits,” he said, urging the platform to respect its boundaries.
While Meta has not released an official statement on the matter, the issue has triggered a heated political debate, with the Samajwadi Party vowing to continue raising its voice against what it calls the BJP’s “anti-democratic attitude.”
