The official Facebook page of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav was suspended on Friday evening, sparking political outrage and allegations of censorship from the party.
According to reports, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, took the action for allegedly posting a “violent sexual post.” Sources clarified that the Indian government had no involvement in the suspension.
Meta suspends Akhilesh Yadav’s account
News agency PTI reported that Akhilesh Yadav’s Facebook page, followed by over eight million users, was taken down around 6 p.m. on Friday.
The account was regularly used to share Yadav’s political opinions, campaign highlights, and criticisms of the ruling BJP government. Its sudden suspension prompted a wave of reactions across social media platforms, with Samajwadi Party leaders accusing Facebook of political bias.
Samajwadi Party calls it “an attack on democracy”
SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand condemned the suspension, calling it an “undeclared emergency.”
“Suspending the Facebook account of Akhilesh Yadav, the national president of the country’s third-largest party, is an attack on democracy,” Chaand said in a post on X. “Every opposing voice is being suppressed, but the Samajwadi Party will continue to fight against the BJP’s anti-people policies.”
National secretary Rajeev Rai also criticized the move, calling it “a blow to India’s democratic system.”
“Blocking the account of the leader of the third-largest party in Parliament, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, is condemnable. If this has been done at the behest of the ruling party, it reflects cowardice,” he wrote on X.
SP leaders accuse Facebook of bias
SP MLA Pooja Shukla also lashed out at Facebook, accusing the platform of overreach and lack of transparency.
“Facebook has dared to cross its limits — it suspended the official page of Akhilesh Yadav without any warning or notice. This is not an ordinary account — it represents the voice of millions. Facebook must remember its boundaries; it cannot silence democracy,” Shukla said.
