Mann ki baat vs maun ki baat: Tharoor's open letter to PM over sedition case against celebrities

Days after celebrities from various fields were slapped with sedition charges for writing an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concern over the growing incidents of mob lynching, Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has written to Modi against the dangerous practise of curbing citizen's fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. "We would like to believe that you too would support the right to freedom of expression so that the 'mann ki baat' of the well-meaning citizens of India does not turn into a 'maun ki baat'," Tharoor urged the PM to look into the issue. 

"Urging all those who believe in #FreedomOfExpression to send this or similar letters to @PMOIndia @narendramodi urging him to affirm the constitutional principle of our Article 19 rights & the value of democratic dissent—even if more FIRs follow as a result!" Tharoor posted on Twitter with the hashtag 'SaveFreeSpeech', publicising the open letter.

Emphasising that the citizens were "deeply disturbed by the FIR", Tharoor reiterated that "there is no democracy without dissent". The senior Congress leader also highlighted that Indians have always been inspired by the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, who dissented against the British. "Had it not been for the courage of those who dissented under the British raj, our history as an independent nation would have been very different."

The chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology (IT) also pointed out that some of the actions of the current government contradicted with PM Modi's declaration in 2016 when he said, "For my government, the Constitution is its real holy book". "In the 'Naya Bharat' that you have promised the nation, are FIRs going to be filed every time a citizen is critical of the government or its policies?... Is the 'Naya Bharat' that you proclaim one where journalists are arrested for exposing failure of governance?" Tharoor asked in the letter urging PM Modi to take a public stand welcoming dissent. 

On Thursday, an FIR was lodged in Bihar's Muzaffarpur against nearly 50 celebrities, including Ramchandra Guha, Mani Ratnam and Aparna Sen, for questioning the Centre's silence on rising number of of mob lynchings. 

The case was lodged after an order was passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari two months ago on a petition filed by local advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha. The police said the FIR was lodged under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those relating to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace.

The FIR move invited public outcry with political leaders, activists, theatre artists and filmmakers staging protests across India, questioning the government action. Many political parties, including the Congress, DMK and CPI(M), and film bodies had on Sunday demanded the withdrawal of the controversial sedition case filed against the celebrities.