New Delhi, November 09, 2021 (PPI-OT):Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has questioned the misuse of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against journalists and activists by police for their social media posts on anti-Muslim violence that took place in Tripura in last month. Gandhi took to Twitter as he slammed the BJP government for “shooting the messenger” as he said that use of hashtag #Tripura_Is_Burning was “a call for corrective action”.
“Truth can’t be silenced by #UAPA,” he said.
The hashtag was first used by journalist Shyam Meera Singh in a tweet in response to the anti-Muslim violence by Hindu nationalists in Tripura in late October.
On Saturday, his Twitter handle was among 102 social media handles against which Tripura Police have registered a case under the UAPA for posting content that police said “promoted hatred among communities”.
The case under UAPA sparked outrage as people are saying that the police were trying to silence voices seeking accountability instead of taking action against culprits. Tripura witnessed a spate of ant-Muslim violence by Hindu nationalists for more than a week in late October, attacking mosques and Muslim properties.
Meanwhile, a day after the Editors Guild condemned the Tripura Police, Indian Women’s Press Corps also came out in defence of journalists. In a statement, it expressed shock and dismay at the case against Singh and other journalists.
“It is a journalist’s job to inform, to highlight and present a true picture of the events. It is not the journalist’s job to please people in power,” IWPC said in the statement, demanding that the cases be withdrawn and let the journalists work freely.
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