Law student and social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli’s arrest in Gurugram evoked strong resistance from various quarters. Panoli was taken into custody by the Kolkata police for a communally-charged social media post on Operation Sindoor. Panoili also slammed Bollywood actors for not reacting over Operation Sindoor. From BJP ally and Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Pawan Kalyan, Actress & Politician Kangana Ranaut to Dutch MP Geert Wilders, many people criticized the WB authorities for the arrest.
Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan faulted the WB police for taking Panoli into custody even when she owned her mistake, deleted the video and tendered an apology. Taking to X: “But what about the deep, searing pain inflicted upon millions when elected leaders, MPs of TMC, mock Sanatana Dharma? Where is the outrage when our faith is called ‘Gandha Dharm’? Where is their apology? Where is their swift arrest?” Pawan Kalyan insisted that “secularism must be a two-way street.”
WB Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, targeting the BJP, said the party was trying to incite communal riots through divisive politics in Bengal and asserted that its ‘gandha dharma’ was contrary to the true principles of Hinduism. Sharing this video, the Deputy CM said: “Blasphemy must be condemned, always! Secularism isn’t a shield for some and a sword for others. It must be a two-way street. West Bengal Police, the nation is watching. Act justly for all.”
Dutch MP Geert Wilders, who heads the right-wing Party for Freedom in The Netherlands, too took to X and wrote that Sharmistha should be freed. Tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he sought that the PM help her. “It’s a disgrace for the freedom of speech that she was arrested. “Don’t punish her for speaking the truth about Pakistan and Muhammad. Help her @narendramodi,” he posted. In 2022, Wilders backed BJP’s Nupur Sharma amid a massive row over her remarks on Prophet Muhammad. Subsequently, Nupur Sharma was suspended and she still remains suspended.
BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut also demanded immediate release of Sharmistha Panoli. On her Instagram Stories handle, she came out in support of Panoli and wrote that she agrees that Sharmistha used unpleasant words but apologized for the same and felt that should be enough. No need to bully and harass her further, she should be released immediately, Ranaut said.
In the wake of the backlash over Panoli’s arrest, the Kolkata police said that some narratives on socil media sounded as though it was an unlawful arrest. The police said that all legal procedures were duly adhered to.
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