In what turned out to be a ‘war of the meme’, BJP’s youth wing worker Priyanka Sharma, was arrested earlier in the week by the West Bengal government, allegedly for morphing the photograph of Actress Priyanka Chopra with that of CM Mamta Banerjee.
All hell broke lose and in an environment of high drama, the Supreme Court heard Priyanka Sharma’s bail plea today.
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She was granted bail on the condition of a written apology, a clause, which was later made unconditional.
So what does this entire episode lead us to? Is the political rivalry at a time when the election fervour is rocket high, reason enough for arrests to be made? If another political unattached citizen of India would have been in her place, would the same action have been the recourse?
Yes, each one of us has the freedom of speech and it should not infringe upon others’ rights. Yes, it could have hurt sentiments.
But, is that reason enough to arrest? Thousands of people had forwarded the same meme, the origin of which is still unknown. Can the administration afford to keep arresting everyone then?
Memes on celebrities get created every second – from Bollywood to political big wigs. That is the fall out of social media and a necessary evil that we are living with.
But, it doesn’t give the administration the right to arrest? No, not at all.
Strict action must be taken against the West Bengal police and an explanation be demanded.
Political rivalry and differing ideologies cannot be brought in between such matters.