FIR against civil society members: 1389 people endorse open letter to the PM

More than 1389 people have added their names to the statement endorsing the open letter sent to the Prime Minister by 49 prominent citizens on July 23.

They also condemned the FIR filed by the police against the signatories which include noted intellectuals like Ramchandra Guha, Mani Ratnam and Aparna Sen, said The Indian Cultural Forum in a press release. The letter had raised concerns over the rising mob lynching incidents in the country.

On October 3, an FIR was filed in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur against the original signatories of the letter under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those relating to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious sentiments and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace.

The latest signatories include personalities like Arundhati Roy, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Asghar Wajahat, Pankaj Bisht and others.

185 more celebrities had endorsed the letter on Monday with total number of signatories now reaching 1389. Earlier today, 650 people added their names in the open letter to the Prime Minister.

All the 1389 people condemn the FIR alleging “sedition” and “misuse of courts to harass citizens who have every right to express their concern about various forms of violence and inequality in the country”.

Many political parties like CPI(M), DMK, Congress and film bodies like Kerala State Chalachitra, on Sunday, demanded withdrawal of the sedition case filed against the celebrities.

“This is tantamount to punishing all those who have a dissenting opinion on the policies of the present government. This is a complete negation of democratic rights and reflect the growing authoritarianism in the country,” CPI (M) said, as per a report published on The Quint.