Officials in India said Friday that a state lawmaker was jailed for criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet, raising fears about free speech in the world’s largest democracy.
Jignesh Mevani, a renowned fighter for India’s marginalised low-caste Dalit group, accused the Hindu nationalist leader of idolising Nathuram Godse, India’s freedom icon Mahatma Gandhi’s killer.
Some elements of India’s right wing see Godse as a hero for assassinating the man they blame for the partition of India and Pakistan, sentiments that Modi has previously criticised.
Mevani, on the other hand, said in a tweet earlier this week that Modi “worships and views Godse as God,” accusing the prime minister of inciting religious conflict.
He also requested that Modi apologise for communal violence in Gujarat, where Mevani is a legislator.
According to AFP, he was detained on Thursday on suspicion of attempting to disrupt “public tranquillity and peace.”
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