Are you saying Modi is a dictator: Divya Spandana to Jaitley over meme controversy
New Delhi, May 14: Congress leader Divya Spandana Tuesday hit back at Union minister Arun Jaitley for his dictator jibe on the Mamata Banerjee meme controversy, wondering whether he was also referring to PM Narendra Modi as a dictator as she was charged with sedition for mocking him in a similar manner.
Spandana's attack came after the Supreme Court Tuesday directed the immediate release of BJP's youth wing leader Priyanka Sharma on bail, days after she was arrested by the West Bengal Police for allegedly posting a morphed image of Chief Minister Banerjee on social media.
Reacting to the meme controversy in West Bengal, Jaitley tweeted: "Humour, wit, sarcasm survive in a free society. They have no place in autocracies. Dictators laugh at people. They don't like people laughing at them. Bengal, today is a case in point."
Hitting back at Jaitley, Spandana, who is the Congress' social media head, said: "Jaitley ji, I agree with you but how come I was charged with sedition for this meme on Modi? Are you saying Modi is a dictator?"
She was referring to a meme in which Modi is adding finishing touches to his wax statue with "chor (thief)" written on the forehead of the statue.
The top court has directed Sharma to tender a "written apology" at the time of her release from jail for sharing the meme on Banerjee saying that freedom of speech of an individual ends when it infringes upon others' rights.
Sharma was arrested on May 10 and charged under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and under provisions of the Information Technology Act on a complaint by a local Trinamool Congress leader Vibhas Hazra.
Jaitley ji, I agree with you but how come I was charged with sedition for this meme on Modi? Are you saying Modi is a dictator? https://t.co/kPysOKWey5 pic.twitter.com/DisMzC2itN
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) May 14, 2019
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Will vacate one of two assembly seats won in 10 days: BJP''s Suvendu
Kolkata (PTI): BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur and secured Nandigram for three times in a row in the recent assembly polls, said on Wednesday that he would vacate one of the two constituencies within 10 days.
Adhikari also asserted that the party's central leadership would decide which constituency he would retain.
"I will vacate one seat within 10 days. The party will decide which one I retain. I will not forget my responsibility towards the people of Bhabanipur and Nandigram," he said.
Adhikari on Monday defeated Banerjee in Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes, puncturing what was long seen as her safest political refuge and delivering a decisive psychological blow to the TMC, amid a sweeping BJP surge across West Bengal.
Addressing party workers and supporters in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP leader appealed to them not to take out victory processions immediately and instead maintain peace.
"Do not take out victory rallies now. Maintain peace and discipline. Celebrate after May 9, after taking permission," he told party workers.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday announced that the oath-taking ceremony of the new government will be held on May 9 at Brigade Parade Ground.
Referring to alleged attacks on BJP workers during the TMC regime, Adhikari said he would not forget the “atrocities" faced by them and assured them of taking appropriate action against perpetrators through legal processes.
"I was part of the 2011 ‘poribartan’ (change), and now I am part of the real change. I offer my gratitude to the people of Nandigram," Adhikari said.
He was referring to the TMC's victory in 2011 when the Mamata Banerjee party dismantled the 34-year Left Front regime in the state.
Adhikari offered prayers at a Hanuman statue in Nandigram and remembered the BJP workers, who had died in political violence.
"We will work in such a way that the BJP government in Bengal stays for 100 years," he said, expressing hope that the BJP’s vote share in the state would rise from the current 46 per cent to 60 per cent in future elections.
The BJP leader also assured residents of Nandigram of improved drinking water supply and better hospital and education infrastructure.
