A political controversy from September 12, 2026, in Lucknow has gone viral!
September 12, 2026: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is at the centre of a political controversy after walking away from a press conference at the BJP office without taking questions from journalists.
The event was held to announce the month-long “Seva Sankalp Abhiyan”, scheduled from September 17 to October 17 to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years in public life. After delivering his remarks, Yogi left the stage without a question-and-answer session.
The moment took a sharper turn when journalist Divya Srivastava, seen wearing red in the widely circulated video, raised her hand and then called out to the Chief Minister, insisting that it was a press conference and journalists should be allowed to ask questions.
The video quickly spread across social media, triggering a political battle over media access and accountability.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate shared the footage while questioning why the Chief Minister was “running from questions”, arguing that asking questions is fundamental to democracy. Congress, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and other opposition voices accused the CM of turning a press conference into a one-way political address.
Meanwhile, BJP supporters dismissed the controversy as a “staged” or “toolkit” performance, arguing that the press conference had already concluded and alleging that the opposition was manufacturing an issue.
More serious claims have also circulated that Srivastava was subsequently surrounded, questioned by the Local Intelligence Unit, threatened or faced professional consequences. Those allegations remain disputed and have not been independently established.
At the heart of the controversy is a deceptively simple question: If journalists are invited to a press conference, should the politician at the centre of it stay to face their questions?
In an increasingly polarised political environment, even a microphone waiting for an answer has apparently become a battleground.
JANPATH NEWS NETWORK (JNN)
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