UP journalist faces online threats after questioning Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow: Journalist Divya Shrivastava is reportedly facing online threats and abuse after a video of her questioning Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during a press conference on Saturday went viral.

Shrivastava told The Pioneer that she questioned Adityanath during the event, but the Chief Minister smiled and left without responding. Several journalists present at the press conference also said Adityanath delivered his address and left without taking questions, despite media representatives being called for what was described as a “press meet”.

After Adityanath left, Shrivastava, who was standing at the back of the hall, could be heard asking the Chief Minister to answer the media's questions and questioning the purpose of holding a press conference if journalists were not allowed to ask questions.

Shrivastava said that as she was leaving the venue, people claiming to be Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters asked which channel she represented and began shouting at her. She also alleged that a narrative was being circulated online portraying her as someone sent by the Opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) or the Congress.

She rejected the claims, saying she is an independent journalist and that the speculation was being used to create a distorted narrative around the questions she raised at the event.

The video triggered political reactions on Saturday, with the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) targeting the Chief Minister over his alleged failure to interact with the media.

Sharing the video on X, CJP said: “UP CM left the Press Conference while a reporter kept asking him to take questions. This is exactly why we rank 157th out of 180 on Press Freedom Index.”

Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said the state has an “overflowing” number of questions, while the BJP-led government has “no answers”.

Without naming anyone, Yadav shared the same video and said those who keep changing names should now change the name of “press conference” to “press monologue”, arguing that if only a statement is to be delivered and the press has no right to ask questions, the term “conference” loses its meaning without dialogue.

He added that Uttar Pradesh was “overflowing with questions” but had no answers, and accused the government of turning away from questions, showing bias in governance and engaging in one-sided rhetoric during press conferences.