Tamil orator Nellai Kannan was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly making ‘provocative’ remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, in light of the Citizenship Amendment Act protests.
PTI reported that Kannan was arrested by the police in Tamil Nadu’s Perambalur district after they were flooded with complaints from the BJP and the ruling AIADMK in the state.
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Kannan had made the remarks at an anti-CAA protest meet by the Social Democratic Party of India last Saturday.
“There is one guy called Amit Shah. (Modi) is the Prime Minister but (Amit Shah) is his brains. If Amit Shah is finished off then Modi is finished too. Leave that be to one side.... But none of you are finishing it. Let that be to one side. I keep thinking you all will do something,” The News Minute quoted Kannan as saying.
The BJP lodged a police complaint this week, accusing Kannan of trying to incite violence and threatening Modi and Shah.
PTI reported that party general secretary KS Narendran had also separately approached the DGP claiming Kannan’s speech was against national integrity and would lead to communal disharmony and sought strict action against him.
NDTV reported that Kannan has been charged with instigating violence and causing intentional insult with the intent to provoke breach of peace.
Kannan’s arrest comes at a time when free speech and student-led dissent is being muzzled across the country in light of the public discord against the CAA.
Huffpost India has had several reports (read here and here) on how protesters and those who were not even part of protests were killed in police violence in Uttar Pradesh. Not only has the police allegedly tortured children they detained in the state, they have also forced families to have hurried funerals for those killed in the crackdown.
In Assam, the government sent notices to the employees of the education department saying action will be taken against them if they make political comments on social media.
(With PTI inputs)