The politician has been charged under Indian Penal Code section 124A (sedition) after a complaint from BJP leader Rajesh Singhal.
Shafiqur Rahman Barq, member of parliament from the Samajwadi Party, has been booked for sedition following his recent remarks allegedly defending the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and and comparing it with India’s own freedom struggle, police informed on Wednesday.
The politician has been charged under Indian Penal Code section 124A (sedition) after a complaint from BJP leader Rajesh Singhal on Tuesday, Superintendent of Police Chakresh Mishra said.
Singhal in his complaint said that Barq’s “controversial statement comes in the category of sedition”.
Mishra said that the SP leader has also been booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).
I didn't make any such statement (comparing Taliban with Indian freedom fighters). My statement has been misinterpreted. I'm a citizen of India, not of #Afghanistan, so I've no business with what is happening there. I support my govt's policies: SP MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq pic.twitter.com/gF9bqiuoDh
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 18, 2021
The officer said that esides Barq, two others – Mohammad Muqueem and Chaudhary Faizan – have also been booked under these sections. He added that the matter is being probed.
According to the FIR, after Barq’s remarks, Samajwadi Party (SP) workers Muqueem and Faizan posted material on social media in support of the Taliban.
Barq, responding to questions from reporters on Monday, had said that the Taliban wanted to free their country and it was Afghanistan’s internal matter.
He had called the Taliban a force that did not allow Russia or the United States to establish themselves in Afghanistan, “and now they want to run their own country”.
When India was under British Rule, the entire country fought for independence, Barq had said.
“They want to be free. This is their personal matter. How can we interfere?” the SP legislator had said on developments in Afghanistan.
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