Ashok Gehlot slams BJP's 'dictatorial attitude' after MLA's arrest

Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday condemned the arrest of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani by the Assam Police, calling it an abuse of power.

"The arrest of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani by the Assam Police for tweeting against the Prime Minister is an abuse of power. This dictatorial attitude of the central and BJP governments is like a blemish on democracy and is against the constitution," Mr Gehlot tweeted in Hindi.

He wrote, "If politicians are arrested for making statements against the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, then perhaps the number of jails in the country will fall short." Mr Mevani, an independent MLA backed by the Congress, was arrested from Palanpur city of Gujarat on Wednesday night. An FIR was earlier registered against him at Assam's Kokrajhar police station for his tweet.

According to the FIR, Mr Mevani in the alleged tweet had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "considered Godse as God".

Mr Gehlot also criticised the registration of cases against Alka Lamba and Kumar Vishwas in Punjab.

"The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab is also following the steps of the BJP. Punjab Police has proved this by registering a case against Alka Lamba and Kumar Vishwas for making political statements," Mr Gehlot wrote in another tweet.