Congress terms Lois Sofia's arrest an assault on Constitution, slams NDA government for 'undeclared Emergency'

A day after 28-year-old Lois Sofia was arrested for shouting anti-BJP slogans in front of the saffron party’s Tamil Nadu unit chief Tamilisai Soundararajan, the Congress lashed out at the NDA government and said that there was an “undeclared Emergency” in the country under BJP’s rule. “Fascism was on full display when a young lady traveling from Chennai to Tuticorin hit a raw nerve when she allegedly shouted ‘Down with fascist BJP government,’” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said at a press conference. “On a display of unbridled arrogance, the BJP president of Tamil Nadu lodged a complaint against the girl, and she was sent to 15 days’ judicial custody,” he said. “If this is not undeclared Emergency, then what is? This was not only an assault on freedom of speech and expression, it was an assault on the Constitution of India.”

Tewari said that the action against the woman was “completely uncalled for”. He noted that it was the second such incident in a week’s time, after the arrest of five left-wing activists, that the authorities were acting against voices of dissent. “This is a pattern that is repeatedly being played out since 2014. It started with the assault on the students of Film and Television Institute of India in Pune, the unfortunate suicide of Rohith Vemula , derecognition of Periyar study circle in IIT Madras,” he said. “Stopping the screening of a Kashmiri film, vilification campaign of Jawaharlal Nehru University. There are many such instances. If you question the BJP, you are anti-national. If you question the government, you’re a traitor. Is this the India that we want?”

He asserted that the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 would be a battle for the “soul of India”. “The battle for 2019 is going to be between fascism represented by BJP and democracy represented by progressive and pluralistic forces in the country. 2019 is going to be a battle, not just to replace the government but for the very soul of India,” he said. Tewari also targeted the Centre over the issue of hike in petrol and diesel prices . “BJP says hike in price of fuel will benefit the state governments. We don’t want people to suffer just to fill state coffers. This is not how Congress governments work,” he added.