'Assault on Truth': Opposition Parties Condemn Arrest of Indian Journalist Over Tweet

Indian journalist Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of fact-checking news website Alt-news, has busted various fake news and is a staunch critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Opposition politicians, journalists and many renowned Indian personalities have condemned the arrest of journalist Mohammad Zubair and have slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Zubair was arrested on Monday night for a tweet on charges of hurting religious sentiments for a tweet that he posted in 2018.

A senior Delhi Police officer said the tweet purportedly showed an image of a hotel, with its sign reading 'Honeymoon hotel' repainted to 'Hanuman (Indian god) hotel'.

A complainant posted a screenshot, tagged Delhi Police, and wrote: "Linking our God Hanuman ji with honeymoon is a direct insult of Hindus. Kindly take action against this guy @delhipolice."

However, a Twitter user, @squaregas, has said that the image used by Zubair is a screenshot from the 1983 Bollywood movie – Kissi Se Na Kehna, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. India's censorship board cleared it and the movie was shown a number of times on television and no objection was ever made.

The image was also used by Indian Express daily's website in 2018. But even at that time, it received no particular attention.

Meanwhile, opposition parties, including Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and left parties, criticized BJP government for clamping down on those who "expose its hate, bigotry and lies."

"India's few fact-checking services, especially Alt News, perform a vital service in our post-truth political environment, rife with disinformation. They debunk falsehoods, whoever perpetrates them. To arrest Mohammed Zubair is an assault on the truth. He should be released immediately," Senior Congress Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor tweeted minutes after the police arrested Zubair.

TMC parliamentarian Derek O'Brien called Zubair "one of the world's finest journalists who exposes BJP's fake news factory" every day.

AIMIM leader and Muslim parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi said Zubair's arrest is highly condemnable.

Meanwhile, Steven Butler, Asia program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said Zubair's arrest "marks another low for press freedom in India".

"Zubair, who routinely busted fake news, exposed the hate machinery in India, has just been arrested," said Rana Ayyub, a Muslim journalist tweeted.

DIGIPUB News India Foundation, a network of digital media organizations, in a tweet condemned the arrest of Zubair and said that the use of "stringent" laws as tools against journalists must stop.

It stated, “…Zubair had previously been booked by Uttar Pradesh Police for calling three Hindutva supremacists ‘hatemongers’ in a tweet. This is not the first time he is being subject to legal harassment. This is the sixth FIR filed against Zubair over the last two years…”

Meanwhile, the BJP so far has offered no official statement but BJP General Secretary C. T. Ravi has called Zubair "Zihadi (Islamic militant)" and hit back at Congress.

Meanwhile, another BJP General Secretary B. L. Santhosh said Congress has no moral right to speak over Zubair's arrest.

"Those who were conveniently silent on month long arrest of #KetakiChitale have neither moral nor legal rights to condemn #zubair arrest. Your selectiveness robs you off any small window you had. Sleep peacefully."

Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale was arrested last month for allegedly sharing a defamatory post against Maharashtra Congress' alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar. Last week she was granted bail, She is facing a total of 22 First Information Reports (FIRs) lodged at various districts in Maharashtra.

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