Activists protest over sedition case against celebs

Activists, theatre artists and filmmakers staged a protest in the Pink city on Monday over registration of a sedition case against 49 celebrities after they had expressed concern over rising incidents of mob lynching in an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

They condemned the filing of the case against celebrities like Aparna Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Ramchandra Guha, Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap and Revathi.

President of Indian People's Theatre Association Ranveer Singh said that it seems that not only has the government become autocratic but the court is also not showing any discretion.

"The eminent persons have tried attracting attention of the prime minister towards mob lynching incidents and demanded appropriate action. How can it be termed as sedition?" Singh said.

He said that it seems that the country is being governed by fascist powers.

State secretary of Janwadi Lekhak Sangh Sandeep Meel said that this "undemocratic act is nothing but an attempt to intimidate" the intellectuals and artists of the country.

"At a time when entire world is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, this FIR is flagging the freedom of expression," he said.

Several other artists, filmmakers and intellectual joined the protest.