Opposition parties condemn the diktat issued by Home department and said that the state is heading towards emergency.
Mumbaikars are unhappy with the Government resolution (GR) issued by the Home department which mentions that charges can be filed against anybody making hatred, unfair statements against elected representatives. The person can be treated as a traitor. Thus a heated discussion is likely to happen in the state assembly over this issue. Already opposition parties have expressed their displeasure over the diktat issued by the Home department. According to them the state government is curbing the citizens right to freedom of speech and expression through this resolution which is unjustified and want it to be reviewed.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief, Raj Thackeray said, “By bringing this resolution the government is only issuing a fatwa to citizens. Nowadays the Fadnavis government is busy in passing resolution and visiting drought prone areas of Marathwada. Instead they must try to offer compensation to the drought affected farmers. The government has failed to deliver the promises made by it. People are already facing huge hardships due to deficit rains in various regions of the state.”
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council, Dhananjay Munde, said, “This is not a right decision. Few days back, a BJP leader had said that whether we are heading towards the emergency era. The Home department’s latest diktat seems to be heading towards that direction.”
Leader of opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said, “The Home department’s diktat is a violation of freedom of speech. The guidelines issued by the Bombay High Court pertaining to this issue must be studied.”
Congress state unit president, Ashok Chavan said, “I condemn this decision and it is anti-democratic. The government needs to review this decision.”
Veteran cartoonist, Mangesh Tendulkar said, “The government is imposing restrictions on freedom of speech. If making statements against the elected representatives is a crime then I will commit this crime on a regular basis.”
Senior Advocate, Abha Singh said, “It’s an unfair move by the government. MP or MLAs are incompetent and by restricting people’s voices their showing their incompetence. Even if somebody criticizes a MLA on a positive note, he will be booked for sedition, you cannot stop people from talking. If they have a problem with a speech or person they surely can file a defamation case.”
NCP leader, Majid Memon said, “The government has chosen to take an extreme course, by imposing such law or rule, which may not survive judicial test, which will be obviously shut down by the very first court with its constitutional validity. Although section 191A of the Indian constitution which assures freedom of speech and expression is not an absolute right, but in number of cases the court has already explained the parameters and the extent to which the expression can be applied, therefore this law seems to be contrary.”
RTI activist, Anil Galgali said, “When people have elected you for their betterment, how can you expect them to shut their mouths when their elected person is not functioning, we are not living in Afghanistan or Taliban. The opposition or even the members within their party cannot speak against their MLA. I believe this is shameful act.”
Earlier Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was arrested on charges of sedition for displaying cartoons during the Anna Hazare protest in the Bandra-Kurla complex (BKC) in November 2011. The arrest was carried out on the basis of a complaint filed by Amit Katarnayea, a legal advisor for a Mumbai-based NGO.
Katarnayea had approached the BKC police in December 2011 with his complaint against Trivedi’s allegedly derogatory sketches, depicting the National Emblem and the Parliament in a bad light. The complainant said that the offending cartoons were uploaded on social networking sites too, thereby hurting the sentiments of the nation. There was a huge outrage over Trivedi’s arrest on social networking sites prompting the government to reconsider its decision.
