Lucknow: The family of Sagar Sharma, the Lucknow native held in connection with the Parliament security breach, said he was happy with the BJP government and possibly participated in Wednesday’s incident under someone’s influence.
However, a look at his social media profile suggests he had quite a few gripes with the government, ranging from the handling of the Covid pandemic to what he saw as crony capitalism.
He also appears to be a follower of the Argentina-born Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, as well as freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, whose bravest exploits included throwing two non-lethal bombs in Parliament in 1929, during British rule, and courting arrest to have their voices heard.
In a post made in May 2021, when the second wave of the Covid pandemic was at its peak, Sagar wrote that the “plight of the country shows that those dying weren’t suffering this fate for their deeds, but because of the stupidity of a negligent, pleasure-loving and incapable government that encouraged the kumbh mela in such a scenario and put the lives of crores of citizens at stake for their selfish electoral ends”.
The kumbh mela, which draws lakhs of devotees, was held that year in April.
“The government figures are unable to capture the toll of those who have died. Thousands of families are getting destroyed and thousands are dying on the roads,” he wrote. “The death count is not being publicised. Modi, Shah and the Election Commission should be booked for the death of thousands of innocent persons.”
In another post the same month, Sharma wrote that “the tribulations that human society has been facing, especially black-marketing, bribery, profiteering and insensitivity, are the signs of an unsuccessful society”.
On 25 May 2021, Sharma alleged that “media platforms have been banned on all occasions when a state of dictatorship has arisen in the country’s politics”.
In another post the next day, Sharma wrote that the government “wants to mould the rules of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so that the public cannot oppose them by coming together and its deeds don’t get viral (on social media) so that it doesn’t catch international media’s attention…”
Months before, the Union government had notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, for social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Netflix, Hotstar and Amazon.
The guidelines required them to follow additional due diligence, establish a grievance redressal mechanism, and appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person and resident grievance officer, while publishing a monthly compliance report and removing “unlawful information”, among other things.
In June 2021, Sharma used a slur for “capitalists who sell off the country’s resources to foreign countries leading to riches for themselves and also benefiting foreign nations”.
Later the same month, he shared posts criticising the Narendra Modi government’s decision to bring in the three farm laws, which were repealed in November that year following a year-long agitation by farmers.
All of Sharma’s posts mentioned here are translations from Hindi.
Also Read: Amid Oppn uproar over Parliament security, Derek O’Brien suspended from Rajya Sabha winter session
‘Riots are never natural’
In July 2021, Sharma wrote that “Hindu-Muslim is a term that divides Indians”, adding that a real Indian is one who is always at the “forefront to sacrifice”.
“A true Indian is the one who considers India above the government and law, one who is not bound by bias of language and regionalism,” he said.
In another post the same month, he wrote that riots are never natural, and carried out by “rented rioters” who give shape to “conspiracies hatched in closed rooms”.
The importance of philosophy in a person’s life was the topic for another post made in August 2021.
“The importance of philosophy in one’s life is just like the importance of water for rain, fire for heat and air for breath.”
On 25 August 2021, Sharma shared a post about Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement of the government’s Rs 6 lakh crore asset monetisation plan to partly fund its ambitious infrastructure projects over four years ending 2024-25. “Everything is fine because law is blind and it can be used blindly,” he wrote.
Bhagat Singh, Che Geuvara fan
On Guevara’s 93rd birth anniversary, in June 2021, Sharma wrote that “there are only a few people who sacrifice their personal comforts for the poor and oppressed and whose thoughts continue to inspire people to struggle even today”.
“Ernesto Che Guevara is such a personality. He and Fidel Castro were the architects of the Cuban revolution. Guevara laid the foundation for the Cuban resistance against America’s dominance,” he said. “There is perhaps no such corner of the world where progressive youth don’t want to associate themselves with Che Guevara.”
In September 2021, which marked Bhagat Singh’s 114th birth anniversary, Sharma shared a quote by him and wrote:
“Beware! Bollywood, cricket, bigotry, blind trends, drugs and gambling, etc are the biggest sources to divert attention from the problems faced by the country…,” he said. “The youth who have to take the reins of the country tomorrow are today being robbed of their sensibility.”
Sharma also appears to have thrown a hint about his Parliament security breach plans in his final Instagram post before the episode, as reported by India Today.
“Jeete ya hare, par koshish to zaruri hai. Ab dekhna yeh hai safar kitna haseen hoga. Umeed hai fir milenge (Making an effort is important, whether one wins or loses. Now, let’s see how beautiful the journey is. I hope I meet you again).”
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Also Read: ‘Did recce months ago, realised footwear isn’t checked’ — how Parliament security breach was planned