DMK president M.K. Stalin on Saturday sought the withdrawal of a sedition case registered against 49 personalities, including Ramachandra Guha, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mani Ratnam and Aparna Sen, saying the move was against the freedom of expression.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister, the signatories had expressed concern over mob lynching incidents in the country.
“It is unacceptable to term these intellectuals anti-nationals. The sedition [case] against them makes us wonder if we are in a democratic State. These [actions] are part of attempts to prevent people from expressing views against the BJP government,” the DMK leader said in a statement here.
Plea to Centre
Appealing to the BJP government at the Centre, he said, “People gave the BJP a majority to form the government, and they have the right and the power to take it back. Prime Minister Modi should realise the truth and ensure the case is withdrawn,” he said.
MDMK chief Vaiko said that in a democratic country, controlling the freedom of speech and projecting people voicing different opinions as anti-national amounted to fascism.
He urged the BJP government at the Centre to drop this attitude.
