Several journalists covering the Samajwadi Party’s protest on the Uttar Pradesh assembly premises were allegedly assaulted by marshals on Monday. In videos widely circulated on social media, journalists were heckled and stopped from covering the protest.
SP legislators were protesting over inflation, law and order problems, and an incident in Kanpur Dehat, where a 45-year-old woman and her daughter set themselves afire during an anti-encroachment drive.
In a video, Indian Express photojournalist Vishal Srivastav alleged that one of the marshals pushed him and other journalists around him while they were covering the “routine” protests. “This has never happened before. I have been covering Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow since 1995,” said Srivastav.
The SP’s Twitter account posted a video of Srivastav talking about the incident and said that it was "shameful".
आजादी के बाद इतिहास में पहली बार हुआ है..जब यूपी की विधानसभा के भीतर विपक्ष को ना दिखाया जाए..इसलिए पत्रकारों को पीटा गया..मुक्के मारे गए..धक्के मारे गए..गाल सुजा दिए गए...ये लिंचिंग यूपी की विधानसभा के भीतर हो रही है..ऐसी सरकारी तानाशाही...ऐसा दमन कभी नहीं हुआ. pic.twitter.com/8BAZ9VzQRv
— Pragya Mishra (@PragyaLive) February 20, 2023
शर्मनाक! यूपी विधानसभा में लोकतंत्र के चौथे स्तंभ के साथ अभद्रता!
— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) February 20, 2023
लखनऊ विधानसभा में बजट सत्र के दौरान सपा के विरोध प्रदर्शन की कवरेज कर रहे "इंडियन एक्सप्रेस" के फोटो जर्नलिस्ट विशाल श्रीवास्तव सहित मीडिया के अन्य साथियों के साथ हुई मारपीट की घटना,घोर निंदनीय है!
हो कार्रवाई। pic.twitter.com/UWNyJXO5rJ
The Delhi Union of Journalists also issued a statement saying that it was “shocked and angered by the latest physical attack on mediapersons”. It demanded that the marshals responsible should be immediately dismissed.
“The assembly’s marshals are mandated to ensure order within the house, not in the area outside it. The police are supposed to manage that area. However, the marshals came out of the building to beat up both the protesters and the journalists. A marshal was videographed, giving orders to attack in order to disrupt the protest. There is sufficient video evidence to prove that the mediapersons were deliberately attacked,” the union stated.
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