Hitting out at the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said today that the arrest of senior journalist Arnab Goswami is an assault on the Freedom of Expression by the Congress party and its allies. Goswami was arrested earlier today after Mumbai Police barged into his house, assaulting him and his family members, including his minor son.
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“Congress is known for stifling democracy. It did so in 1975 while imposing an Emergency on the country. And you may have witnessed today, for its own agenda, Congress has arrested one of the biggest journalists of India and assaulted the fourth pillar of democracy,” Yogi Adityanath said in a rally.
Several politicians such as Amit Shah, Smriti Irani, Kiren Rijiju, Ravi Shankar Prasad, JP Nadda, Prakash Javadekar and many others have condemned the Maharashtra government for trampling upon the freedom of the press by arresting and manhandling Arnab Goswami and extended their support and solidarity to the embattled journalist.
Arnab Goswami arrested by Alibaug Police
In a shocking display of the might of the state, the Mumbai Police not only assaulted and dragged Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami before making the arrest but also physically assaulted his minor son and other family members, as per a report by Republic TV.
Speaking to the media soon after the arrest, Arnab Goswami said that Mumbai Police assaulted his wife, minor son at his residence. Reportedly, Arnab Goswami’s elderly father-in-law and mother-in-law were also assaulted by the Mumbai Police.
According to Republic Media Network’s Niranjan Narayanaswamy, Mumbai Police personnel armed with assault weapons such as AK-47 barged into Arnab Goswami’s residence on Wednesday to arrest him in a 2018 case which was already closed. He added that more than 30 Mumbai Police personnel armed with weapons arrested and dragged him to Raigad police station in connection with the case.