The arrest of 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi in connection with allegedly being involved in sharing a "toolkit" on social media related to the farmers' protest, has sparked outrage in India. Social activists and environmentalists have called for her immediate release, and have also demanded to drop charges against others in the case.
Politicians across parties have condemned Disha Ravi's arrest and the subsequent five days of police custody. "Arrest of 21 yr old Disha Ravi is an unprecedented attack on Democracy. Supporting our farmers is not a crime," tweeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. "Arresting anybody who is protesting against government policies is not unacceptable. The BJP should first take action against its own IT Cell members who are spreading fake news. Why two sets of rules ?" West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
Demanding Disha Ravi's release, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi tweeted, "People with guns are afraid of an unarmed girl. Rays of courage and hope are being spread through an unarmed girl #ReleaseDishaRavi #DishaRavi #IndiaBeingSilenced." Rahul Gandhi also attacked the government and said India won't be "silenced".
Now, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has targetted PM Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over the arrest of the climate activist.
"India under Modi/RSS regime believes in silencing all voices against them as they did in IIOJK. Using cricketers & Bollywood celebrities narrative building was shameful enough, but now they have also taken Disha Ravi for custody over Twitter toolkit case. #IndiaHijackTwitter," PTI tweeted.
