BJP 'fearful' of any opinion which it dislikes: Congress on arrest of Ashoka University professor

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday condemned the arrest of Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, saying it shows how fearful the BJP is of any opinion which it dislikes. Mahmudabad, Ashoka University's head of the political science department, was arrested on Sunday after two FIRs were lodged on stringent charges, including endangering sovereignty and integrity, for his social media posts related to Operation Sindoor.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said his party condemns any character assassination, vilification, trolling, harassment, unlawful arrest of any individual and vandalism of any business entity, either through fringe elements or through official state machinery. "The arrest of Ashoka University professor , Ali Khan Mahmudabad, shows how fearful the BJP is of any opinion, disliked by them," he said in a post on X.

Kharge said the arrest follows a chain reaction which began from targeting the "grieving widow of our martyred Naval officer, our Foreign Secretary and his daughter, and the deplorable disparaging comments made by a BJP Minister for a serving Colonel in the Indian Army".

Kharge backs national unity stance

"Instead of sacking their own Madhya Pradesh's Deputy CM & Minister, who made disgusting statements against our valiant Armed Forces, BJP-RSS is hellbent in casting a narrative that anybody who represents Pluralism, questions the government or simply performs his professional duty in the service of the nation, is a threat to its existence," he noted.

Kharge said supporting the armed forces and the government, when national interest reigns supreme, does not mean that it cannot question the government. "National Unity is supreme for the Congress party, BJP should be under no impression that it can foster Dictatorship under the garb of the present developments. Democracy should stand tall," the Congress chief said.

The Haryana State Commission for Women had recently sent a notice to the associate professor questioning his remarks, though Mahmudabad had maintained that they were "misunderstood" and asserted that he had exercised his fundamental right to freedom of speech.