tns report
A member of Tamil Nadu
party MDMK was on Sunday arrested for allegedly posting a morphed image of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook. The police said the accused
caricatured PM Modi and depicted him with a begging bowl.
Sathiyaraj alias Balu, an MDMK worker in
Sirkazhi town, was arrested on Sunday on the complaint of a local BJP leader, J
Swaminathan. He has been charged with intent to disrupt peace and to create
ill-will between classes, news agency AFP reported.
Sathiyaraj has been
sent to judicial custody after being produced in court today, the police said.
The MDMK worker had
allegedly posted the picture on January 26 when members of his party were
protesting against PM Modi's visit to Madurai. The party accuses the PM of
betraying the interests of Tamil Nadu.
The arrest comes
barely a month after a Manipur journalist was sentenced to a year's detention
under the National Security Act. Kishorechandra Wangkhem, 39, was initially
detained on November 27 to "prevent him from acting in any matter
prejudicial to the security of the state and maintenance of public order".
The reason for his detention was a Facebook video that showed him criticising
Chief Minister N Biren Singh as well as PM Modi.
Critics called the
arrests alarming in the world's largest democracy.
"There has been a
worrying crackdown on free speech and dissent in India, whether slogans, social
media commentary against ruling leaders, or arrests of journalists and
activists who criticise the government," Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia
director at Human Rights Watch,
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