FIR against journo in UP: Priyanka slams BJP, calls it 'shameful'

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the UP government after an FIR was lodged against a journalist over a report on the impact of the coronavirus-induced lockdown on a village. Terming the act as shameful, Priyanka said that the BJP government cannot hide the truth by booking the scribe.

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, 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 Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

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.

PTI Report