Mumbai: Coming out in support of young victims of social media trolls, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on Saturday exhorted them to speak out against the wrong policies of the government and oppose the rising number of cases of intolerance and fascism across India.
Pawar met around 35 youngsters who were threatened on social media or booked by police for speaking out their minds against the government and its policies on WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook or other public and community fora in the past few weeks.
Seeking to put the youngsters at ease, the 76-year-old Pawar made it clear at the start of the three-hour interactive session: “You can bluntly criticise me: Say anything you want freely. Tell me honestly where my party or I am going wrong.”
Many of the youngsters did just that and freely expressed their views, mainly on NCP politics, to the seasoned politician, who listened intently without interruption while some aides made a note of the suggestions expressed.
“It was an absolutely free and candid exchange of views between the NCP chief and the youngsters who gave their frank opinions on a wide range of issues confronting the country, especially on the reduced tolerance levels, the attacks on freedom of thought, speech and expression,” said senior NCP legislator Jitendra Awhad.
Another party leader who was present on the sidelines said the exercise was part of a long-term strategy to attract liberal-minded youths to the NCP fold, infuse fresh thinking in politics and rejuvenate the party before the 2019 elections.
Many of the youths recounted the harassment they faced in recent weeks at the hands of law-enforcement agencies who allegedly ‘snoop’ on writings and views posted on various social media platforms or the notices sent to them by the police department in Mumbai and other parts of the state.
Besides, they gave examples of how they were being systematically trolled on social media for airing their opinions against the government’s policies or those in power, with ridicule, threats and abuse directed at them in an effort to silence them.
Several of the youths expressed concern over the growing levels of intolerance that have gripped various sections of society and even manifested in the killing of citizens who espoused liberal views, the most recent being journalist Gauri Lankesh.
Some others voiced distress over what they termed “a grim economic scenario”, with “salaries getting slashed or jobs lost”, the “misplaced priorities of the government” which focused more on issues not concerned with public welfare activities, and the general situation that has created an uncertain future for the youth.
“Continue expressing yourself against anything you feel is going wrong; I am solidly behind you and you have nothing to worry,” said Pawar, who later hosted a lunch for the invitees at the Y.B. Chavan Centre.
“When the youth of Maharashtra are speaking up for protecting democracy, it is wrong to target them and suppress their voice. The people of the state will not tolerate any attempts to curb the freedom of expression,” Pawar said at the end of the discussions.
The meeting came against the backdrop of notices sent to over two dozen youths, including journalists, by the Cyber Cell of Mumbai Police in connection with some fake accounts on Facebook while probing what has been touted as “objectionable content against Prime Minister Narendra Modi” among others.
After an account under the fictitious name of ‘Dev Gaikwad’ was detected a few weeks ago, police got into action by arresting one individual and slapping notices on several others summoning them for investigations in the matter.
