Reacting to the arrest of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said "the arrest of one voice of truth will only give rise to a thousand more"."Every person exposing BJP's hate, bigotry and lies is a threat to them.
Arresting one voice of truth will only give rise to a thousand more. Truth ALWAYS triumphs over tyranny", said Gandhi in a tweet using the hashtag #DaroMat.Journalist and Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday evening on charges of hurting religious sentiments under sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The police had registered a case after getting a complaint from a twitter handle, where it was alleged that Zubair had tweeted a questionable image with a purpose to deliberately hurt religious sentiments.Terming the arrest as an assault on truth, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor demanded his immediate release.
"India's few fact-checking services, especially @AltNews, perform a vital service in our post-truth political environment, rife with disinformation. They debunk falsehoods whoever perpetrates them. To arrest @zoo_bear is an assault on truth.
He should be released immediately," said Tharoor in a tweet.Former Minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also tweeted and said: "Altnews & @zoo_bear have been in the forefront of exposing the bogus claims of the Vishguru, who has struck back with a vengeance characteristic of him.
Delhi Police, reporting to the Union Home Minister, has long lost any pretensions of professionalism and independence".