New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday slammed the BJP over FIRs filed against party MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists, with its leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleging that the ruling party has “torn to shreds” the “dignity of democracy” by this action.
The opposition party also alleged that the BJP governments at the Centre and in states are hell-bent on “brutally and blatantly silencing” every contrarian or dissenting voice “by hook or by crook”.
Tharoor and six journalists — Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath — have been booked by police in some BJP-ruled states over their allegedly misleading tweets on the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi on Republic Day.
Reacting to the development, Priyanka Gandhi said the trend of the BJP government threatening public representatives and journalists by filing FIRs is “very dangerous”.
“Respecting democracy is not the government’s prerogative but it is its responsibility. The atmosphere of fear is like poison for democracy,” she said in a tweet in Hindi.
“The BJP government has torn to shreds the dignity of democracy by FIRs against senior journalists and public representatives,” she said.
In a statement, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “The BJP governments at the Centre and in states are hell-bent on brutally and blatantly silencing every contrarian or dissenting voice by hook or by crook.”
In doing so, it is resorting to threats, intimidation and coercion that seem to be exceeding the overreach of even the “draconian Press Act of 1910 and the Rowlatt Act of 1919”, he said referring to the British-era laws.
“The FIR filed against senior journalists and editors and a Congress MP is a clear cut instance of strangulating democracy by the BJP and its leaders,” Surjewala said.
“‘Either you should be with us, or we will use state machinery to harass and bulldoze you’ is thoroughly embedded in the Modi government’s DNA,” he alleged.
The bedrock of BJP’s ‘New India’ is based on creating an atmosphere of fear by systematically targeting its detractors and labelling all dissenting voices as anti-national’, he claimed.
“No segment of the society, be it farmers, youth, Dalits, tribals, women or any common citizen with a mindful alternative view has been spared by this concerted modus operandi of the Prime Minister, Home Minister and various BJP CMs, especially Yogi Adityanath of UP,” Surjewala said.
The entire nation has witnessed how ministers in the Modi government have repeatedly spewed venom against the lakhs of farmers who have been protesting in a largely peaceful manner for the last 70 days, he alleged.
“Dismantling that side of the fourth pillar the media which does not toe the slated line of the BJP, while protecting the one which does, exposes BJP’s utter hypocrisy,” he said.
The Congress strongly condemns the FIR against senior editors and a Congress MP, which is nothing but another step in the direction of “criminal intimidation of dissent, taken by this tyrannical government,” he said demanding that the FIRs be quashed.
Tharoor and the six journalists have been booked by the Noida Police for sedition, among other charges, over the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi, officials said on Thursday.
Madhya Pradesh police have also filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Tharoor and the six journalists over their ‘misleading’ tweets on the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi.
Also read: Call off talks with farmers, merits and demerits of farm laws no longer an issue
Your Gupta is on payroll of Italian donna. Shashi Tharoor and Rajdeep are white collared gundas. These people should not go unpunished . And if you are going to use complex legal means to save them, then they will receive mob justice. One day Guptaji will also be sorted out
When it was obvious that the peaceful agitation for over 60 days was not leading to roll back of the 3 laws, the next step was to create violence on the 26th Jan. Anyone who in whatever way tried to contribute to that by way of comments and misleading information has to be taken to task. Let the court decide how serious it is and what sections are justified. There is no shortage of nut cases on the political spectrum, which is obvious from the multiple FIRs filed and we hope the SC will put an end to this practice once and for all.
I am glad that at last someone has shown guts to act against these holy cows of media. For too long, Rajdeep Sardesai has been practising divisive journalism, using his stature to pass off half-truths and lies and holy writ. Even his own employer has acted against him. Why not the Government? As regards others, one can only say that Shashi Tharror, for all his learning, is a 64 years old kid, irresponsible in his conduct and speech. I hope they will be summoned to the court and will be forced to come out on bail like ordinary criminals.
I am glad that Congress is defending their own. Except that one of them claim to be an independent journalist.
Disclaimer: This is a matter of democracy and not politics.
Approaching the courts is in no way “shredding democracy”. Democracy is shredded in the hallowed halls of parliament by some of our elected representatives.
We the people send elected members to the parliament to do business on matters of Governance. When they renege from this constitutional responsibility by walking out of the hallowed Parliament halls or boycott its proceedings, are they not committing an undemocratic act and trampling on the democratic rights of the electorate and the citizens of the Nation?
This is a very serious issue. These elected members should discharge their constitutional duties in earnest. The media should realise that We the people of India have no issues with Freedom of Speech and such other freedoms as afforded in the constitution., which we enjoy in an undiluted measure. Approaching the courts is no way “shredding democracy”! Get to the real issue.
Our elected representatives need to be more responsible towards Governance rather than on rabble rousing.
It is time we the people demand real Governance from all our elected representatives.
Is there any rule that fir should not be filed against these people?