“Dictatorship is what we witnessed over last weekend… Can one not even express their feelings now? Are we in democracy or dictatorship,” asked a young man.
Terming it the “the death of democracy”, another woman professional said: “What irks me is how the alleged Shiv Sainiks reacted in the most intolerant and cowardly manner. We are living in mob culture and this is just not acceptable.”
The ire spilled over to every sector.
Minister of State for Communications and IT Milind Deora said: “Question isn't about amending 66A of the IT Act, it's about preventing misuse by the police, who clearly acted in haste and applied wrong sections of IPC and IT Act.”
“Also, vandals of Dhada Hospital must be booked! Hope Maharashtra government takes immediate corrective action,” he tweeted.
The CPI-M asked for Maharashtra's Congress-NCP government to “take immediate action and stop pandering to the whims and fancies of the Shiv Sena”.
In a statement against the “illegal and arbitrary arrests”, the groups Communalism Combat and SAHMAT said the incident was “one more instance of the growing politics of intimidation threat and violence that are not firmly dealt with by the authorities”.
Signed by artists, academics, media professionals and legal experts, the statement said the arrests were the “most recent in a long list of actions undertaken by the police under the IT Act which are questionable”.
Most people felt the only way to reinforce faith in the establishment was to suspend the policemen who arrested the girls.
The ripples were felt globally as well.
Linking the Mumbai arrests to the shooting of Pakistani teen Malala Yousafazai, contactmusic.com reported that the prohibition of what's allowed on the internet and the decreasing amount of free speech available on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook is becoming more and more apparent.
And this was the message posted by Shaheen: “With all respect, every day, thousands of people die, but still the world moves on... Today, Mumbai shuts down due to fear, not due to respect.”
The Shiv Sena openly justified the arrest of the two Thane girls over a Facebook post on their chief, and called Bal Thackeray their god.
Talking about the arrests of the two girls, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that the law had taken its course on the issue. “Balasaheb Thackeray is our God.
We will not tolerate any offensive comments against him. No Shiv Sainik and no Marathi Manoos will remain silent. The arrest is justified,” Shiv Sena Thane rural chief Prabhakar Raul said.
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