FIR against scribe in UP: Priyanka slams BJP govt

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday termed as "shameful" the FIR against a journalist in Uttar Pradesh over a report on the impact of the Coronavirus-induced lockdown on a village, saying the BJP government cannot hide the truth by booking the scribe.

The First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Supriya Sharma, the executive editor of Scroll.in, for allegedly misrepresenting facts in a report on the impact of the lockdown on the village adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The UP government cannot hide the truth by filing an FIR," Priyanka Gandhi tweeted.

There is a lot of mismanagement on the ground during this disaster, she said.

"By showing the truth, there is a possibility of corrective measures. But the UP government is filing FIRs against journalists, retired officials and opposition leaders for bringing out the truth. Shameful," Priyanka Gandhi said in the tweet in Hindi. The FIR was filed against Sharma at the Ramnagar Police Station based on a complaint from Mala Devi, a resident of Domari village, police sources said.

Domari falls in Varanasi constituency which was adopted by Modi under the San The news report had quoted Devi as having said that she is a domestic worker and has been facing shortage of essential food items as she did not have a ration card.

Devi alleged that the journalist misquoted her, according to the police sources.

Police booked Sharma under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday attacked the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the teachers recruitment case, alleging that it is in "cover-up mode" as names of people associated with the ruling dispensation have come to the fore.

Taking to Twitter, she also tagged a media report which claimed that so far 11 people have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh for the alleged fraud in the recruitment of teachers in the Basic Education Department, but the main accused or its masterminds are still absconding.

Those young people who worked hard, took the exam and had been waiting for the fruits of their hard work for a year, should get justice, Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi. "In such a big scam, the government is in cover-up mode because the names of people associated with the ruling dispensation have come to the fore," she claimed.

Injustice towards youth is unacceptable, the Congress general secretary in-charge of UP East said.

Earlier, Priyanka Gandhi had demanded that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath must take responsibility in the matter and take "strong action" with transparency to ensure justice is done.