Hours after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in support of the 49 celebrities who were slapped with sedition charges, South actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan sought the Supreme Court's intervention in the matter on Tuesday, 8 October.
“The Prime Minister seeks a harmonious India. His statements in parliament confirm it. Should not the state and its law follow it in letter and spirit? 49 of my peers have been accused, of sedition, contradicting the PM’s aspirations,” wrote Haasan.
The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief added, “I request as a citizen that out higher courts move in to uphold justice with Democracy and quash the case emanating from Bihar.”
A Muzaffarpur court ordered an FIR for sedition to be lodged against filmmakers Aparna Sen, Shyam Benegal, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, historian Ramachandra Guha and others for writing the open letter to PM Modi.
Written in July, the letter urged the PM to take action against the rampant increase in mob lynchings and the alleged weaponisation of Jai Shri Ram slogan that has made headlines in the recent times.
The letter had stated that the mob killing of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately, and stressed that there was "no democracy without dissent."
Earlier in the day, Tharoor posted an open letter on Twitter to PM Modi, urging him to look into the rights granted under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.
He questioned this government’s idea of ‘Naya Bharat’ where parties and individuals who disagree with the ruling majority will be outlawed and treated as enemies of the state.
Before Tharoor and Haasan, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, reacting to the sedition charges against the celebrities had said, “Anybody who says anything against the Prime Minister, anybody who raises anything against the government is put in jail and is attacked.”
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