West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, 28 June, came down heavily on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over the arrest of activist journalist Teesta Setalvad and Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair.
Speaking at a public meeting in Asansol of West Burdwan district, she said, "BJP's social media is all about fake videos and cheating people by spreading misinformation. When your leaders spread dirty misinformation and insult others, then you don't arrest them. You remain silent. Even if they kill people, they won’t be touched, but if we speak the truth, we will be targeted. Why did they arrest Zubair? What did he do? Why did you arrest Teesta? What has she done? Today the whole world is condemning this," reported India Today.
Gujarat Crime Branch had on Sunday, 26 June, arrested Setalvad. This came a day after after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by Zakia Jafri, wife of Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Zubair, meanwhile, was arrested by the Delhi police on Monday, 27 June, for allegedly "hurting religious sentiments".