Amit's arrest is overstretched, says Congress

Sep 11, 2012 |

New Delhi

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Coming under severe criticism from several quarters after the arrest of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on charges of sedition, the government on Monday pointed out that there should be ground rules for respect of national symbols have to be followed by every Indian citizen.

The arrest, however, was criticised by both the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP. The Congress disapproved of the arrest stating that it was a bit 'overstretched' and 'not called for' while the BJP alleged that the UPA has become a 'threat to the people' and charged with attacking democratic institutions and curbing free speech.

Responding to queries following the arrest, Union information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni on Monday said that the ground rules for respect of national symbols have to be followed. She pointed out that the UPA government is not in favour of 'censorship' and was inclined towards the concept of 'self-regulation' by the media.

“The UPA government is not for censorship but for self-regulation and in the last three years as I&B minister, we have promoted self-regulation at every step,” she said.

The Congress advocated for 'reasonable restrictions' on freedom of speech and called for respecting the national emblems. “I have no hesitation in saying that the arrest is a bit too far over-stretched... Over-reaction is certainly not called for... We are not in favour of arrest,” AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari said.

While noting that “a society, which fails to laugh at itself, runs the risk of getting atrophied”, he, at the same time, posed the question “does freedom of speech mean doing everything is fair deal?”

However, the BJP charged the government with attacking democratic institutions and curbing free speech.

“If an article is written in Washington Post, then a letter is dashed off to it by this government. If a cartoonist, using his right to freedom of speech, expresses his views, then he becomes a danger to national security,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

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