SEDITION CASE SLAPPED ON LAKSHADWEEP FILMMAKER

The Lakshadweep police have registered a case of sedition against filmmaker Aisha Sultana for allegedly calling the Union territory’s administrator Praful Khoda Patel a “bio-weapon” launched by the Centre.

Sultana, a Lakshadweep resident, made the comment during a TV discussion amid anger in the region over new rules introduced by Patel, which his opponents say threaten the livelihoods of islanders.

The case against her was lodged in Kavaratti on the complaint of Lakshadweep Bharatiya Janata Party chief C Abdul Khadar Haji on Thursday. In his complaint, Haji cited a debate on a Malayalam news channel quoting Sultana purportedly calling Patel a “bio-weapon”. He said her words were in “bad taste and intended to create hatred and aversion in the minds of people.”

Sultana said she used the word but did not attack the country or the Union government. “I was referring to some of the decisions of Patel which infuriated local people. Despite popular sentiment, he continues to antagonise people. As a local resident I have right to criticise him,” she said on Facebook.

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The Supreme Court on May 31 expressed concern over the misuse of India’s sedition law and said that it will define the contours of the colonial era penal provision to indicate what does and does not constitute sedition.

Lakshadweep Sahitya Pravarthaka Sangam, a body of writers, has backed Sultana..