Patna, July 22, 2024
In a joint press statement, CPI(ML) state secretary Kunal and MLA from Sikta, Virendra Prasad Gupta, have condemned an incident where several individuals were charged with sedition under the new criminal laws and some were jailed for raising the Palestinian flag during the Muharram procession at the Shikarpur police station in West Champaran. The accused include Wasim Akram, Shahnawaz Ansari, Hajbullah, Raseed, Saheb Alam, Mehtab, Jahangir, DJ operator Yogendra Sahni, Mohd. Vakil and several unidentified youths sitting in a pickup van. They criticised the administration's action as being based purely on anti-Muslim sentiments and demanded the immediate release of the arrested youths.
The CPI(ML) leaders stated that India has always stood with Palestine, which is facing a genocide. They questioned how supporting a suffering nationality could be seen as compromising India's sovereignty? They said the Modi government is criminalising support for Palestine.
The real nature of the new criminal laws is becoming apparent. The Modi government claims to have abolished colonial-era sedition laws, but the new sedition law it introduced is far more dangerous. It is merely a tool to crush freedom of expression. The administration, driven by Muslim phobia, has declared support for Palestine as sedition and is targeting Muslims through it. If this is not stopped, there will be no meaning left for democracy and the constitution in the country.
