Owaisi Slams Sedition Against Bidar School for Staging Play on CAA
Owaisi met the two women lodged in a prison in Bidar, he said that the they are still in shock and are very scared.
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A school in Karnataka’s Bidar had its children stage a play against Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC.
The fallout: A case of sedition slapped against the Shaheen Primary and High School in Bidar district, the headmistress and the mother of a child who had said, “hit those people with a chappal” in the play. The two women were arrested after a bunch of students were questioned twice by police officials.
On Saturday, 1 February, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi met the two women, who are currently lodged in a prison in Bidar.
“Nazbunnisa (the mother of the child) is a widow. She told me that her daughter is alone in the house and the landlord was looking after her. She was clearly in pain and wanted to come out of jail quickly. The head mistress of the school, Fareeda Begum, told me that her BP shot up and she was unwell and was administered glucose in the jail,” Owaisi said.
Owaisi said that the women pleaded with him to get them out of jail.
The play about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was staged on 21 January. Nilesh Rakshala, an activist of the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), filed a case stating that the dialogues in the play "insulted the Prime Minister".
Owaisi also met the Bidar Superintendent of Police Nagesh DL and questioned him about whether sedition charges were slapped against the two women.
“I asked the SP why sedition was used and he said it was because the Prime Minister was criticised. I asked him if a citizen is not allowed to criticise a Prime Minister in a democracy. Also, how does this become sedition?” Owaisi said.
Owaisi said that he questioned the police as to why they had not conducted a preliminary investigation before including sedition charges in the FIR.
“SP said that sedition charges were added because a complaint was given. He said that the remand report in court would include only section 504 intentional use of abusive or provocative language),” Owaisi said.
However, in the remand report, the police have mentioned sedition and alleged that the mother taught the child the dialogues of the prime minister.
“The woman will now have to go to sessions court to get bail and this will be difficult. Using sedition is a way of punishing people who criticize the government,” Owaisi told TNM.
“The chappal line which was found objectionable was not something which was taught to them. The children said it extempore. It was not part of the play. The sky is not going to fall for it,” Owaisi said.
He also added “What is it that the children did? What crime have they done that this sort of reaction has been there from the department that the officers had to interrogate children? Do you know what psychological impact it can have on the children?”
“When sedition charge is filed, one suffers in jail for a long time. It becomes almost impossible to prove in the court as the burden of proof is so high. Not everyone has the financial capability to approach high court, afford a good lawyer, and fight the case. He or she would be languishing in jail unless the HC hears the matter. It is to teach them a lesson. They are using sedition to silence people,” he added.
(This article has been published in an arrangement with The News Minute)
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