Actor Kangana Ranaut today blasted out at the Maharashtra government for trampling upon the freedom of speech after Mumbai Police barged into the house of senior journalist Arnab Goswami and detained him in an abetment to suicide case. Taking a dig at Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, Kangana said, “What makes you so angry when people refer to you as penguin? You look like penguin so people call you that.”
Message for Maharashtra government @republic #Arnab #ArnabWeAreWithYou #ArnabGoswami pic.twitter.com/AJizRCitS7
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) November 4, 2020
In a video shared by Kangana this morning, the actor was seen in her car from where she shared her support and solidarity for Arnab Goswami. Lambasting the Maharashtra government, she referred to them as Sonia Sena and Pappu Sena for suppressing the dissenting voices.
“I want to ask the Maharashtra government that today, you barged into Arnab Goswami’s house, pulled him by his hair and assaulted him. How many houses will you level? How many throats will you choke? How many voices will you silence. If you will muzzle one voice, several others will grow. Sonia Sena, how many mouths will you gag? Before us, many martyrs’ throat were slit, they were hanged for their right to free speech,” Kangana said.
She further added, “Sonia Sena ko Sonia Sena kaho toh gussa kyu aata hai? Pappu sena kaho toh gussa kyu aata? Penguin kaho toh gussa kyu aata hai? Aap penguin jaise lagte ho toh penguin kahenge(What makes you angry when someone refers to you as Sonia Sena? What angers you when someone calls you Pappu Sena? Why are you so annoyed when people call you a penguin? You look like a penguin so people will call you that).”
The reference to penguin can be attributed to the recent clampdown of Freedom of Expression by the Mumbai Police. A social media user Sameet Thakkar was rearrested from a Nagpur court premises moments after he was granted bail. He was arrested by Mumbai VP road and transferred to Mumbai the same evening through Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto express. Thakkar was arrested because had made critical remarks of the Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and allegedly referred to his son, Aaditya Thackeray, as a penguin in his social media posts.
Arnab Goswami arrested by Alibaug Police
In a shocking display of the might of the state, the Mumbai Police not only assaulted and dragged Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami before making the arrest but also physically assaulted his minor son and other family members, as per a report by Republic TV.
Speaking to the media soon after the arrest, Arnab Goswami said that Mumbai Police assaulted his wife, minor son at his residence. Reportedly, Arnab Goswami’s elderly father-in-law and mother-in-law were also assaulted by the Mumbai Police.
“They beat my son. They did not allow to meet my in-laws”, Arnab Goswami informed the media through the van’s window after he was assaulted and picked him by Mumbai Police from his house in Mumbai.
According to Republic Media Network’s Niranjan Narayanaswamy, at least 10 Mumbai Police personnel armed with assault weapons such as AK-47 barged into Arnab Goswami’s residence on Wednesday to arrest him in a 2018 case which was closed after court’s order. He added that more than 30 Mumbai Police personnel armed with weapons arrested and dragged him to Raigad police station in connection with the case.
