Mamata Banerjee raises voice in support of arrested Mohammed Zubair & Teesta Setalvad

|HT|

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday voiced support for arrested journalist Mohammed Zubair, who co-founded fact-checking platform Alt News, as well as social activist Teesta Setalvad, and said that anyone who dares to protest against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Centre are shown as ‘criminals’, whereas those who create ‘misleading narratives’ are roaming free. “Look at the rising price of the gas cylinder, look at the state of our farmers, look at the scenario in this country. Anybody who dares to protest, they are raided by the ED, the Income Tax or other agencies,” the Trinamool supremo said at a party meeting in Asansol, hinting at the recent arrests of journalists, activists as well as Delhi minister Satyendar Jain.

“When it comes to the BJP, social media is all about presenting a fake video, creating a misleading narrative and deceiving the public. Even if they commit a murder, they get away with it. But, when we dare to speak, we are shown as criminals.”

“Why have you arrested Mohammed Zubair and Teesta Setalvad? What wrong have they done? Does speaking out the truth or exposing the truth a crime? Those who are speaking out against this government are either harassed by using agencies or are arrested,” Banerjee said. The TMC supremo's remarks were made in an apparent reference to controversial comments by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma on Prophet Mohammad and other BJP leaders who have previously been named for spreading hatred.

Banerjee also attacked the Centre over the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme, calling it a “major scam and another example of Jumla politics” ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

On Monday, the Delhi Police arrested Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair over a four-year-old “objectionable” tweet. The tweet in question, posted in 2018, was a scene from an old Bollywood movie, apparently against a Hindu deity.

The Delhi Police said Zubair had used controversial tweets in effort to get fame, adding other FIRs were also registered against him in different matters. The Delhi Police has now got a 4-day remand of Zubair on charges of hurting religious sentiments and promoting enmity. He was produced before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Court today after expiry of his one-day custodial interrogation.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)