Everyone who disagrees with PM Modi is attacked, says Rahul Gandhi condemning FIR against intellectuals

“Every person who disagrees is attacked, it’s not a secret,” said Rahul Gandhi while addressing the media when he was in Wayanad showing solidarity with protestors against a night traffic ban on night traffic ban on the highway passing through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

He was responding to a question about the FIR filed against the 50 celebrated academicians and artists who wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister criticising the mob lynching culture, saying “Jai Shree Ram” has become a provocative war cry these days.

He specified that they are in an ideological battle, where Congress represents the belief in divergent views in a country filled with differences and diversity.

"Anybody who dares to oppose the prime minister, anybody who raises anything against the government is put in jail and is attacked. Media is crushed. Everybody knows what's going on. This is not a secret. But thank you for raising this," the Congress MP told reporters who asked him to respond to the FIR (First Information Report) over the open letter.

"At present, an ideological fight is going on in the country and it's about if the country be ruled by one person and one ideology and all the others should shut their mouth," remarked Rahul Gandhi.

"Everybody knows what is going on in the country. It's not a secret. In fact, the whole world knows it. We are moving into an authoritarian state. It's pretty clear," he said.

"In the ideological battle, the Congress believes in divergent views as our country has different languages, cultures, while the BJP believes in one man and one ideology," said Rahul Gandhi.

Condemning the FIR well-known filmmaker and intellectual Adoor Gopalakrishnan said to NDTV, "What is happening to us? I heard about this in total disbelief because I cannot imagine any court admitting a case of sedition against that letter... it is against the spirit of that letter to read it like that, " Adoor Gopalakrishnan is one of the signatories of the open letter. "When someone criticises the government it is not sedition. We are living in a democracy", he was quoted by NDTV as saying.