Guwahati: “Negative” online posts about Prime Minister Narendra Modi hurt BJP workers and people “should be careful” when tweeting about him, the Assam BJP leader on whose complaint Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani was arrested said while speaking to NDTV.
Arup Kumar Dey, a young BJP leader, is an executive member of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) cabinet and is in charge of the health and family welfare portfolio.
In a complaint filed over an internet post criticising the Prime Minister, Mr Mevani, a Dalit activist and legislator from Vadgam, was detained in Gujarat by Assam police personnel and transported to Kokrajhar. He was placed in police detention for three days by a municipal court on Friday.
Mr. Mewani has been charged with criminal conspiracy, trespassing on a place of worship, inciting religious fervour, and provocation that could lead to a breach of the peace.
Speaking to NDTV, Mr Dey said he had been following Mr Mevani’s tweets for a long time. “He has been trying to divide people by his posts and always speaks negatively about Prime Minister Modi. We are lucky to have Modiji as our Prime Minister and Mevani is trying to link his name with the recent (incidents of) violence. Is Prime Minister Modi responsible for that? He says Godse is Prime Minister Modi’s God, what proof does he have?”
“We are BJP workers and we won’t tolerate such misleading and conspiring posts and tweets about Prime Minister Modi ji,” Mr Dey said.
The BJP leader stated that the police charge against Mr Mevani is intended to convey a message.
“Through this complaint, we want to send a message to others, particularly public representatives, that they should be careful while tweeting about Prime Minister Modi. We got the FIR registered, got strong sections invoked since Mevani wanted to provoke a particular community. His tweet indicated that he was blaming the Prime Minister for the recent Gujarat violence. Anyone can appeal to the Prime Minister to urge for peace, but can’t blame a Prime Minister for violence in any state,” he added.
Mr Dey stated emphatically that his grievance has “nothing to do with politics” or the approaching Gujarat elections.
“Through this complaint, we want to send a message to others, particularly public representatives, that they should be careful while tweeting about Prime Minister Modi. We got the FIR registered, got strong sections invoked since Mevani wanted to provoke a particular community. His tweet indicated that he was blaming the Prime Minister for the recent Gujarat violence. Anyone can appeal to the Prime Minister to urge for peace, but can’t blame a Prime Minister for violence in any state,” he added.
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