Journalist Prashant Kanojia was on Tuesday arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police from his Delhi residence. While details remain unavailable, news agency ANI said that this was in connection with a social media post about Ayodhya’s upcoming Ram Temple.
According to a tweet by The Caravan, the FIR states that Kanojia had shared a morphed image of Hindu Army leader Sushil Tiwari. Reportedly, he had called for a ban on SCs, STs and OBCs entering the Temple.
Today, the UP Police arrested the journalist Prashant Kanojia for a social-media post. The FIR accused Kanojia of sharing a morphed image of Sushil Tiwari, a Hindu Army leader, calling for a prohibition on SCs, STs and OBCs from entering the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
— The Caravan (@thecaravanindia) August 18, 2020
For those residing under a rock, decades of unrest over the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute had recently been put to an end once and for all with Prime Minister Modi laying the foundation stone for the temple in a socially distanced ceremony on August 5. While many had hailed the “historic” moment, others lamented the occasion as a “dark day”.
A quick perusal of Kanojia’s Twitter handle shows that he had made several posts on the upcoming mandir. He had suggested that President Kovind was not being invited “because they consider you untouchable” and in another post alleged that Dalits in UP are persecuted on a daily basis by “RSS people”.
“Those who are happy for the OBC Ram Mandir should know that when the Mandal Commission made a provision of 27% reservation, the BJP had dropped the government and started the so-called Ram Mandir movement. Before that, there was no Ram temple on the agenda of BJP / RSS. Ram temple movement took place in protest against OBC reservation,” read another post from August 7.
कितना भी समर्थन कर लो निमंत्रण तो मिला नहीं क्योंकि वो आपको अछूत मानते हैं लेकिन आप जैसे गुलामों को भारत के इतिहास में चमचा ही कहा जायेगा। कांशीराम ने आप जैसे लोगों के लिए ही चमचा युग लिखा था। शर्म आनी चाहिए ऐसे राष्ट्रपति को। धिक्कार है। https://t.co/3Pli7DOCwB
— Prashant Kanojia (@PJkanojia) August 16, 2020
उत्तर प्रदेश में एक दिन ऐसा नहीं गुजरता जब आरएसएस वाले दलितों पर अत्याचार न करते हों। लेकिन मजाल है कोई इसपर डिबेट करें?
— Prashant Kanojia (@PJkanojia) August 12, 2020
जो ओबीसी राम मंदिर के लिए खुश हो रहा है वो जान लें कि जब मंडल आयोग द्वारा 27% आरक्षण का प्रावधान हुआ तब भाजपा ने सरकार गिरा दिया था और तथाकथित राम मंदिर आंदोलन शुरू किया। उससे पहले भाजपा/आरएसएस के एजेंडे में राम मंदिर था ही नहीं। ओबीसी आरक्षण के विरोध में राम मंदिर आंदोलन हुआ।
— Prashant Kanojia (@PJkanojia) August 7, 2020
Following the news of his arrest, many have expressed criticism at the way the situation has been handled.
“The arrest of Bahujan journalist @PJkanojia is the testimony of the dictatorial attitude of the Uttar Pradesh government. Now the government has a problem with people reading and writing and raising their voice,” wrote Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Azad.
Drawing a parallel with the Emergency period he urged that Kanojia be released immediately.
बहुजन पत्रकार @PJkanojia की गिरफ्तारी उत्तर प्रदेश सरकार के तानाशाह रवैए का प्रमाण है। अब लोगों के लिखने पढ़ने और आवाज उठाने से सरकार को तकलीफ होने लगी है। हम लगातार आपातकाल के दौर से घिरते जा रहे हैं। तत्काल प्रशांत कनौजिया की रिहाई सुनिश्चित की जाए। @lkopolice
— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) August 18, 2020
Lucknow Police has arrested @PJkanojia from his Delhi residence. It's clear path towards cops dictatorship. Kindly inform the cause behind this arresting without any prior information and release him soon, @lkopolice.
— Suraj Kumar Bauddh (@SurajKrBauddh) August 18, 2020
