On Friday (14th June), Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena granted permission to prosecute author Arundhati Roy under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for her alleged ‘provocative’ speech at a 2010 event. The development has triggered a meltdown among the so-called Indian Liberals, “intellectual elites”, “voices of dissent” and Islamists.
Among a string of over two dozen reactions compiled by Anurag (X_LekhakAnurag), the usual trope of “fascism, dictatorship, and India becoming the Banana Republic” comes out as a recurring theme.
The usual suspects have lamented that despite the BJP coming back to power with a weaker mandate, it has shown ‘continuity’. They alleged that the Modi-led NDA government has continued its ‘fascist and dictatorial’ tendencies and by prosecuting Arundhati Roy it has turned India into a Banana Republic.
India Today journalist, Rajdeep Sardesai ranted that the “voice of dissent” is being branded as anti-national which according to him makes India appear more like a ‘Banana Republic’. Notably, “Banana Republic” is a term used to describe a country where the rule of law is ineffectively applied, with laws enforced based on the administration’s convenience and as a retributive measure to crush dissent. The accusation does not hold water in a country like India, which has a thriving democracy, a free and fair election process, an independent judiciary, other constitutionally established institutions, and a robust media.
🧵 #meltdown
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) June 14, 2024
Delhi L-G granted prosecution sanction against Arundhati Roy under UAPA in 2010 provocative speech case.
Soon after the report, the left-liberal and Islamist gangs had a meltdown.
Here are few gems.
1/n Rajdeep Sardesai ka Banana republic wala meltdown. pic.twitter.com/yDhUXKF37k
Supreme Court lawyer, Prashant Bhushan who had been penalised in the past for contempt of court, alleged that the Modi government has not learned anything from the 2024 debacle. He also accused it of turning India into a ‘dictatorship’ and a ‘banana republic’.
2/n Prashant Bhushan had somilar reaction. pic.twitter.com/j2JYmL2PCC
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) June 14, 2024
Meena Kandasamy lamented that the hopes of the left-liberal and Islamist ecosystem that a reduced majority will ‘tame’ the “fascist beast” were “naive” and wrong.
3/n Dr Meena ka outrageous wala meltdown. pic.twitter.com/UlVRZMe8dR
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) June 14, 2024
TMC MP Mahua Moitra also reacted on the same lines and accused the Modi government of indulging in “fascism”.
Ex-Amnesty India Chief Aakar Patel expressed disbelief that anyone could be prosecuted for “speech”, omitting the fact that the contentious speech by Arundhati Roy is accused of “promoting the separation of Kashmir from India”. It is alleged that Arundhati Roy strongly asserted that Kashmir was never part of India, was forcibly occupied by the Indian Armed Forces and that every effort should be made for the independence of Jammu and Kashmir from India.
6/n Akaar Patel ka "I can't believe" type meltdown pic.twitter.com/ZmUigQrgTT
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) June 14, 2024
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghosh pontificated that the authorities must act as per her priority list and book all other accused first before taking action against Arundhati Roy.
Dubious historian notorious for whitewashing Islamist acts of Aurangzeb, Audrey Truschke, also alleged that the prosecution of Arundhati Roy is an example of a “modern-day witch hunt”.
9/n Auranzebi Audrey Truschke ka meltdown pic.twitter.com/XhMenY5Aka
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) June 14, 2024
Incidentally, CPI(Maoist) which is notorious the world over for its ‘totalitarian’ approach, “condemned” Roy’s prosecution. It alleged that the case defies logic and exemplifies ‘fascism’. It also tried to cast aspersions on the timing of the development alleging that courts and lawyers are on vacation. Pertinent to note that the vacation bench of courts does take up legal matters and there is no ‘void’ in the judicial process or arbitrary, unjust action as being alleged in the post.
10/n CPI(M) ka fascist, shameful aur condemnable wala meltdown. pic.twitter.com/OvwsBGMIeq
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) June 14, 2024
Shabnam Hashmi alleged that ‘the fascist’ government can’t tolerate “international repute” and “an excellent intellectual”. Likewise, Shirin Khan hailed Arundhati Roy as a “daring patriot”.
The Hindu’s Suhasini Haider alleged that the development is an attempt at gaslighting despite the voters rejecting “totalitarian governance”.
Arfa Khanum Sherwani expressed “solidarity” with the controversial author.
Script writer of Dharma Production house, Darab Farooqui ranted that Modi will be the first leader to ‘imprison’ a “Booker prize winner” on terrorism charges.
Propagandist Nikhil Wagle questioned the belief of the leftist and Islamist ecosystem that the Modi government will be “different”.
An X user Pegasus ignored the fact that the author was booked for her ‘provocative’ speech when the Congress government was in power.
Karti Chidambaram expressed surprise that a “writer” was being prosecuted under UAPA. However, he skipped that the “writer” repeatedly said Kashmir was not part of India and spread fake info about the Godhra incident where Hindu pilgrims were burnt alive.
22/n Karti Chidambaram skiped that the "writer" repeatedly said Kashmir not part of India and spread fake info about Godhra incident where Hindu pilgrims were burnt alive. pic.twitter.com/bYg03yCrDw
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) June 15, 2024
Interestingly, Salil Tripathi went on to blame P Chidambaram for bringing the stringent UAPA law and sought an apology from him.
23/n Salil Tripathi ka "UAPA" wala meltdown. Seedha blame Chidambaram pe gaya 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/GkoLmaS9zM
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) June 15, 2024
Swati Chaturvedi alleged that the Modi government was holding the “public in contempt” by allowing the prosecution of Arundhati Roy.
The complainant, Sushil Pandit, a Kashmiri activist, filed a complaint under Section 156(3) of the CrPC with the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in New Delhi. The court directed the registration of an FIR on November 27, 2010, when Congress-led UPA government was in power.
