Yogi foolish, must release scribe: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticized the arrest of scribe Prashant Kanojia and the editor and the head of a Noida-based TV channel, saying Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is behaving “foolishly” and he should release the journalists.

Mr Gandhi also claimed that if every journalist who files a false report or peddles fake, vicious RSS/BJP sponsored propaganda about him is put in jail, most newspapers or news channels would face a severe staff shortage.

“The UP CM is behaving foolishly and needs to release the arrested journalists,” he tweeted.

Retweeting Rahul Gandhi’s tweet, AICC in-charge Uttar Pradesh (East) Ms Priyanka Gandhi also attacked the state government over the issue.

“Instead of working on the issues of the people, the UP government is cracking the whip of fear on journalists, farmers and representatives,” she tweeted.

The attack on the Uttar Pradesh chief minister by the Congress leadership came on a day the Supreme Court ordered immediate release of Mr Kanojia, saying the fundamental right to liberty is “sacrosanct” and “non-negotiable”.

The Editors Guild had on Sunday condemned the arrest of Mr Kanojia, Singh and Mr Shukla, describing the police action as an “authoritarian misuse of laws” and an effort to intimidate the press. A protest march was taken out by journalists and activists outside the Press Club of India in the national capital on Monday demanding the immediate release of journalists.

An FIR was registered against Kanojia in which it was alleged that the accused made “objectionable comments against the CM and tried to malign his image”.