Journalist Prashant Kanojia gets bail, but 5 still in jail; 2 others booked
Lucknow: As journalist Prashant Kanojia was released on bail Wednesday, the fate of five others arrested for posting and sharing alleged objectionable remarks against Chief Minister Adityanath hung in balance.
The five others arrested on similar charges include three journalists and two Gorakhpur residents while the police are looking for one each in Kannauj and Basti.
With the Supreme Court breathing down the neck of Uttar Pradesh government for putting Kanojia behind bars, the journalist was granted bail a day after the apex court order.
Kanojia was arrested for sharing a video on his Twitter and Facebook accounts. The video showed a woman repeatedly expressing her desire to marry Adityanath.
According to police, Kanojia's comments on social media had maligned the chief minister's image. Adityanath, 47, is a saffron-clad monk-turned-politician who is also the 'mahant' (head priest) of the Gorakhnath mutt.
Officials said Ishika Singh, channel head of Nation Live and editor Anuj Shukla were arrested in Noida on June 8, two days after telecasting the controversial content "without verifying" its authenticity.
The duo was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
Nation Live editor Anshul Kaushik was arrested in Noida on Monday night and sent to 14-day judicial custody Tuesday on the same charges which were slapped against the channel head and editor.
In a separate incident, a scrap dealer Peer Mohammad was arrested in Gorakhpur on Monday for making a fake "wedding card" of the UP chief minister go viral on social netowrk.
In Gorakhpur itself, a nursing home manager, Ram Prakash was put behind bars on Monday for making indecent remarks against Adityanath on social media.
Meanwhile, cases have been registered against two other persons on similar grounds, but they have not been arrested so far.
Santosh Kumar Gupta has been booked in Kannauj for uploading a morphed picture of Adityanath, while Vijay Yadav of Basti is facing charges for allegedly making some derogatory remarks against the chief minister on social media, police said.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
