FIR filed against journalist Abhisar Sharma by Guwahati police
Guwahati (PTI): The Guwahati Crime Branch on Thursday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against journalist and YouTuber Abhisar Sharma on the basis of a complaint filed by a local resident alleging that he had uploaded a video ridiculing both the Assam and the Union governments, a senior police officer said.
The FIR invokes Sections 152 (sedition), 196 and 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
According to the complaint, Sharma uploaded a video on YouTube accusing Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of pursuing communal politics.
Sharma also mocked the principle of Ram Rajya and claimed that the government "survives only on Hindu-Muslim polarisation," the complainant said.
Complainant Alok Baruah, a 23-year-old resident of Nayanpur, Ganeshguri, stated that the remarks were made with mala fide intent to disrepute elected governments and have the effect of provoking communal sentiments.
He alleged that such comments are capable of inflaming passions, creating distrust against lawfully established authorities and promoting enmity between religious groups.
The FIR further records that the video is being discussed in the complainant’s locality and that people are talking about a religion-based divide after viewing it which may disturb public peace and harmony.
The complainant alleged that the offences committed by Sharma are punishable under Sections 152 (which replaced the repealed sedition law and criminalises acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India), 196 (offence of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, or community) and 197 (dealing with with imputations and assertions that are prejudicial to national integration) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
