Ten-and-a-half months after being sworn in to power, the Samajwadi Party government has started following the media rules set by the previous Bahujan Samaj Party government.
Samajwadi leaders are following the Mayawati pattern and refuse to speak on record to journalists and after Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav asked party leaders to refrain from giving statements to the media in November, the situation has worsened.
CM Akhilesh Yadav rem-ains his cheerful and polite self while interacting with media persons but his inte-ractions do not go beyond a smile and a handshake.
A reputed business newspaper has been trying to get an appointment with the chief minister for a business conclave for almost a month now but has not yet succeeded. Two local editors have put in a request for a meeting with Mr Akhilesh Yadav but to no avail. “What Mayawati did with a frown, Akhilesh is doing with a smile. That is the only difference in this government,” remarked a former editor who is known for his proximity to Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav but has not been able to meet the chief minister yet.
The state information department that acts as a bridge between the media and the government has also ceased to perform this role. The department is busy doling out accreditations to journalists and advertisements to small newspapers that are high on the government’s priority list. State SP spokesman Rajendra Choudhury says that since the CM is spending all his waking hours in working and setting things back on rails, he has not found time to meet journalists on a one-to-one basis.
“I think very soon he will start meeting you all and we are certainly not following in the footsteps of the BSP,” he said. However, media entry into the SP state headquarters has been restricted after some channels misreported Mr Azam Khan’s statement earlier this week.
After the chief minister it is SP MP Dimple Yadav who remains the most sought after person in the party by the media but the lady prefers to remain a complete recluse.