Several media persons were reportedly locked up in an emergency ward of a district hospital during Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath’s visit on Sunday, 30 June.
The chief minister was visiting the hospital for a health care inspection.
District Magistrate of Moradabad, Rakesh Kumar Singh, however denied the claims saying the allegation is “baseless”.
He further told news agency, ANI that they (media persons) were stopped by police near the door of emergency ward.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED
According to the Times Now report, nearly 20 journalists on Sunday were locked up in the emergency ward of a district hospital in Moradabad by Singh, in an attempt to prevent questioning the UP Chief Minister on the state of healthcare facilities provided at the hospital.
The report added that the media personnel were let out after Adityanath left the hospital.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
Following this, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in a tweet criticised the BJP government for preventing journalists from asking questions.
"Journalists are being held hostage, questions are being veiled, problems are being sidelined. The BJP government, which has won a strong majority, is not facing the public's questions," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
However, the district magistrate in his response to Gandhi said that the media persons were stopped as it was "not good for the patients."
(With inputs from Times Now and ANI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)