MUMBAI: Latching on to the arrest of Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, the BJP in Maharashtra on Wednesday hit out at the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government, accusing it of having Emergency-era mindset and muzzling the free voice.
Goswami was arrested on Wednesday morning by the Raigad police for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 53- year-old interior designer in 2018.
Taking to Twitter, Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Devendra Fadnavis said, "Although emergency was defeated in 1977, the mentality is still alive! Today, supporters of emergency- Congress & Shivsena displaying the same undemocratic brutality to crush any voice of dissent. India has always fought such forces & struggle will continue. #EmergencyInMaharashtra #Arnab."
Talking to reporters, BJP MLA from Mumbai Atul Bhatkhalkar said, "Journalists like Arnab were raising valid questions, but in order to hide its own failures, the Uddhav Thackeray government is muzzling the free voice. It is anti- democracy."
"The Shiv Sena-led MVA government is known for arresting journalists under false pretext. In case of Arnab, this government is doing the same thing. The so-called case of suicide was already closed, but this government has reopened it to its settle scores," the BJP leader said.
BJP leader Ashish Shelar said, "It is a black day for democracy. Is the state heading towards emergency era?" BJP's state unit chief Chandrakant Patil will stage an agitation in Nagpur on Wednesday over the police action against Goswami, sources close to him said.