BJP explains sanction for Arundhati Roy’s prosecution to counter Chidambaram’s ‘no tolerance’ dig

Reacting to the Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena’s sanction for prosecution against author Arundhati Roy, Congress leader P Chidambaram said the sanction clearly shows that “under the rule of the LG (and his masters)” there is no room for tolerance.

“When speeches are made, even if many people disagree, the state should show tolerance and forbearance. “I am in favor of freedom of expression and against the colonial law of sedition. Section 124A has often been misused and hence it should be abolished. There are other provisions of law which are adequate to deal with incitement to violence,” the senior Congress leader said.

Chidambaram was the Union home minister in 2010 when Arundhati made the speech for which she will now be prosecuted. Chidambaram said he stands by what he said in 2010 when he was asked why there was no action against Arundhati Roy for her Azaadi speech. “I still stand by what I said in 2010 at the speech of the famous writer and journalist Ms. Arundhati Roy. Then there was no justification for filing a case against him on treason charges,” Chidambaram said. In 2010, Chidambaram said Delhi Police not filing a case against Arundhati Roy was in accordance with the letter and spirit of law.

BJP’s Amit Malviya said Chidambaram has ‘again jumped the gun’, trying to ‘earn brownies’ in his ‘zeal to please his Faux Liberal Casteist and Dynastic Masters’. “The LG has not sanctioned Arundhati Roy’s prosecution under section 124A (Sedition) of IPC, precisely because the matter is with a Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court. The sanction to prosecute Arundhati Roy has been given under section 153A, 153B and 505 of the IPC. But then facts hardly matter when arrogance rules the head,” Malviya tweeted.

13 years after the speech, Delhi LG on Tuesday gave sanction for prosecution against Arundhati Roy and former professor at central university of Kashmir Sheikh Showkat Hussain.

What was Arundhati Roy’s speech?

On October 21, 2010, a conference was organised by the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners under the banner Azadi – The Only Way. Arundhati Roy was one of the speakers at the conference. The FIR registers on November 27, 2020 in New Delhi accused Roy and the other speakers of delivering provocative speeches