Student who ‘heckled’ Tamil Nadu BJP chief released on bail

CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: Lois Sophia, the 28-year-old research scholar who was arrested on Monday for shouting slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of the party’s state unit president Tamilisai Soundararajan, was granted bail on Tuesday, by a local court in Thoothukkudi.

Sophia, a research scholar at the University of Montreal in Canada, raised slogans of ‘Fascist BJP government down down’ when she spotted Tamilisai aboard the aircraft flying to Thoothukudi. Sophia reportedly repeated the slogan when Tamilisai was collecting her baggage.

“While I sat in seat number three, Sophia was sitting in seat number eight. Since the aircraft had only one entry-exit point at the rear end, I walked towards that. While I crossed seat number eight, Sophia started to shout ‘Fascist BJP, down, down.’ She was too young and so I ignored the incident. But again when I walked down to collect my baggage, Sophia again shouted at me,” said Tamilisai.

However, SA Samy, Sophia’s father said“... She (Sofia) did not make derogatory comments... Though she is a medical student, her passion towards journalism had made her write supporting the anti-sterlite movement. So, BJP is now demanding that the government examine the background of my daughter...” he said.

Meanwhile, reacting to Sofia’s arrest, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari alleged there was an undeclared emergency in the country. “The battle for 2019 will be between fascism represented by the BJP and democracy represented by the progressive and pluralistic forces in this country. It will be a battle for the very soul of India,” he told reporters.