Anyone who says anything against PM is put in jail: Rahul Gandhi on FIR against celebrities in Bihar

Mangalore Today News Network

Wayanad, Oct 04, 2019 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is in Wayanad in support of the protesters over Bandipur night travel ban , claimed the the nation was moving towards an authoritarian state and that everyone in the country knows it. While addressing the media, he was asked about the FIR that was filed in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur Thursday against as many as 50 celebrities who had written an open letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi voicing their concerns over the incidents of mob lynching in the country.

 

He said, "Everybody knows what is going on in the country. It’s not a secret. In fact, the whole world knows it. We are moving into an authoritarian state. It’s pretty clear," the Wayanad MP told reporters, he added, "Anybody who says anything against the prime minister, anybody who raises anything against the government is put in jail and is attacked. Media is crushed." On Thursday, an FIR was lodged in Muzaffarpur against 49 imminent personalities including Ramchandra Guha, Mani Ratnam, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Aparna Sen under sections which includes sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace. The case was lodged after an order was passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari two months ago on a petition filed by local advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha. The petition had claimed that the celebrities allegedly "tarnished the image of the country and undermined the impressive performance of the prime minister" besides "supporting secessionist tendencies". "The CJM had passed the order on August 20, accepting my petition upon the receipt of which an FIR was lodged today at the Sadar police station here," Ojha said.