3,500 activists condemn FIR filed by UP govt. against journo Siddharth Varadarajan

NEW DELHI: 3500 jurists, artistes, writers and many others have slammed the UP government for filing an FIR against The Wire's editor Siddharth Varadarajan.

The FIR was filed against Varadarajan because of this tweet which reads, "On the day the Tablighi Jamaat event was held, Adityanath insisted a large Ram Navami fair planned for Ayodhya from March 25 to April 2 would proceed as usual and that Lord Ram would protect devotees from the coronavirus."

Later, the journalist tweeted, saying, "I should clarify that it was Acharya Paramhans, Hindutva stalwart and head of the official Ayodhya temple trust, who said Ram would protect devotees from coronavirus, and not Adityanath, though he allowed a public event on 25/3 in defiance of the lockdown and took part himself."

In the letter, people have slammed the UP government for filing FIR against him warning the government to not use coronavirus as an excuse to curb press freedom.

"Towards the end, the impugned article merely pointed out that 'Indian believers' more generally have been late to adopt precautions and avoid congregation, recalling UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's plans, as late as March 18, to proceed with a religious fair at Ayodhya and his flouting of the national lockdown and social distancing norms by taking part in a religious ceremony along with others on March 25," according to the statement.

UP police filed an FIR against Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of web portal The Wire

The signatories include former national security adviser Shivshankar Menon, Kiran Desai, Arundhati Roy, among many others.

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