The Mumbai police have detained and have been questioning Jiten Gajaria, a BJP social media prabhari, over his two Tweets posted on January 4, on Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray.
As told by BJP Mumbai’s social media in-charge and secretary Pratik Karpe to OpIndia, a team of three officers of the Maharashtra police reached Jiten Gajaria’s office in the morning at around 10 am. They were not carrying any legal notice or warrant against Jiten Gajaria, yet they picked him up from his office and brought him to the cyber police station, BKC in Mumbai where he is currently being interrogated for the last three hours.
Pratik Karpe, who is BJP’s Mumbai secretary and social media in-charge, also took to Twitter to raise his voice against the tyranny of the Maharashtra government under Uddhav Thackeray.
I am hearing that cyber police of @MumbaiPolice has reached SM Prabhari @jitengajaria ji office ?
— Pratik Karpe (@CAPratikKarpe) January 6, 2022
Mumbai police is this true ?
Is it legal to go without serving notice at someone’s office ?
Is this what you meant @AUThackeray that asking questions is a crime ?
The arbitrary action being taken against the BJP leader by the Maharashtra police at the behest of the Shiv Sena government led by Uddhav Thackeray was for two Tweets Gajaria had posted on January 4. In his first Tweet, Gajaria had referred to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray as Maharastra’s Rabri Devi.
Marathi Rabri Devi pic.twitter.com/P1rnO0SC9o
— Jiten Gajaria (@jitengajaria) January 4, 2022
In his second Tweet, he quipped at Rashmi Thackeray and Ajit Pawat by invoking the latter’s crass 2013 urine remark that had ridiculed the hunger strike by a drought-affected farmer in Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar had then said: “From where will we give him water? Should we urinate in dams?”
जर रश्मी सरकार चालवत असेल तर मी उपमुख्यमंत्री फक्त लघवी करण्यासाठी आहे का? – @AjitPawarSpeaks to @OfficeofUT pic.twitter.com/oo8qBLDdr0
— Jiten Gajaria (@jitengajaria) January 4, 2022
Gajaria had joked in Marathi, thereby indirectly referring to Ajit Pawar’s insensitive remark. His Tweet roughly translated to: “If Rashmi is running the government, am I the Deputy CM just to urinate? – @AjitPawarSpeaks to @OfficeofUT.
He had quipped that Ajit Pawar must be asking Uddhav Thackeray’s government what his position as Deputy Chief Minister would be if Rashmi Thackeray was running the government. Is he only in the government to urinate?
This is, however, not the first time the Uddhav Thackeray government has displayed such extreme intolerance towards opponents and basically anyone who dares to criticise them. Last year, six Shiv Sena goons had assaulted a retired Navy officer for sharing Uddhav Thackeray’s cartoon. The WhatsApp forward was allegedly a satirical cartoon featuring Uddhav Thackeray and his allies Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi. Before that Sena goons had assaulted a person and had shaved his head for criticising Uddhav Thackeray on Facebook.
