DMK president MK Stalin on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi take steps to withdraw the FIR filed in Bihar against celebrities “to protect democracy and basic features of the Constitution.”
Condemning the sedition charge against the celebrities, the leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu said "labelling them as anti-nationals" for writing an open letter to Modi, voicing concern over growing incidents of mob lynching, was "unacceptable."
"How can seeking to uphold the basic tenets of the Constitution like tolerance and communal harmony be construed as anti-nationalism?" he asked in a statement.
Targetting the Prime Minister over the issue, Stalin alleged that the Government led by him at the Centre got involved in acts against freedom of expression, which was "unacceptable."
The BJP Government should realise that those who had taken up autocracy and clamped down on freedom of expression only faced defeat and it was evidenced by history, he said.
Hence, realising such aspects, the Prime Minister should "take steps to immediately withdraw the sedition case against the celebrities and protect Indian democracy and the basic tenets of the Constitution," the DMK chief said.
Tamil film maker Maniratnam and Tamil actress Revathi are among the celebrities named in the FIR.