'Those exposing BJP's bigotry…': Political leaders condemn Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair's arrest

Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair. File Pic

An outrage erupted on social media platforms after the Delhi Police arrested Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair on Monday evening.

Soon after he was arrested, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said arresting one voice of truth will only give rise to a thousand more.

Gandhi alleged that every person exposing BJP's hate and bigotry is a threat to the party, while noting that truth will prevail.

"Every person exposing BJP's hate, bigotry and lies is a threat to them. Arresting one voice of truth will only give rise to a thousand more. Truth always triumphs over tyranny," he tweeted.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also extended his support to the arrested journalist. "Altnews & @zoo_bear have been in the forefront of exposing the bogus claims of the Vishguru, who has struck back with a vengeance characteristic of him. Delhi Police, reporting to the Union Home Minister, has long lost any pretensions of professionalism and independence," he tweeted.

Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore demanded an immediate release of the journalist. "After 2014, India's few fact-checking services, especially @AltNews, perform an important service in our post-truth political environment rife with disinformation and lies," he said.

"They debunk falsehoods whoever perpetrates them. Now it's Co founder arrested by Delhi police under Shah. To arrest @zoo_bear is a blunder by DelhiPolice. He should be released immediately," he tweeted.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also tweeted and termed his arrest an 'assault on truth'. He wrote, "India's few fact-checking services, especially AltNews perform a vital service in our post-truth political environment. They debunk falsehoods whoever perpetrates them."

Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through one of his tweets.

Zubair was booked under sections 153A (promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Delhi Police said.

Two days before Zubair's arrest, prominent Indian rights defender Teesta Setalvad was picked up by the anti-terrorism wing of the police in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state.

Setalvad was picked up from her home in Mumbai hours after federal Home Minister Amit Shah, a close aide of Modi, accused her of giving "baseless information" to the police about the 2002 Gujarat violence, in which at least 1,000 people, an overwhelming majority of them Muslims, were massacred when Modi was the state chief minister.