After Rahul’s tweet, Bengal Cong leader retracts plaint

Five days after he lodged a police complaint against actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Netflix for allegedly “abusing” former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the web series Sacred Games, a Bengal Congress leader withdrew his complaint after party chief Rahul Gandhi said he believed in freedom of expression.

Rajeev Kumar Sinha, a member of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, had filed the complaint at Girish Park police station in Kolkata on July 10 accusing Siddiqui and Netflix of abusing the late Prime Minister in Sacred Games.

“Inspired by the tweet by our party president Rahul Gandhi ji, I learnt that forgiveness is bigger than anything else in this world. I am going to the police station around midday to withdraw the complaint lodged against Netflix and Nawazuddin Siddiqui,and producers of Sacred Games,” said Sinha.

“However, I also urge the Union ministry of broadcasting to formulate guidelines to prevent use of abusive language against leaders of the country in the name of freedom of expression,” added Sinha.

“BJP/RSS believe the freedom of expression must be policed & controlled. I believe this freedom is a fundamental democratic right. My father lived and died in the service of India. The views of a character on a fictional web series can never change that,” twitted Gandhi on July 14 in reference to the Sacred Games controversy.

“Rahulji’s tweet was an eye opener.I completely agree with him that late Rajiv Gandhi ji and his contribution is above all these petty things,” said Sinha.

Sinha, 37, is associated with the party’s student wing in Kolkata’s trading hub of Burrabazar. He is the son of former Congress MLA Anay Gopal Sinha.

In his police complaint, Sinha wrote that Siddiqui is heard referring to Gandhi with an abusive word in the web series and has misrepresented several facts from that period.

KOLKATA: