Louis Sophia shouted "Fascist BJP government down, down" in a flight in which Tamil Nadu BJP president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan was also flying.
Twitterati on Monday raised their voice against the jailing of a young woman who shouted slogans against the Narendra Modi government in a flight in which Tamil Nadu BJP president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan was also flying.
The woman, identified as Louis Sophia, called the BJP government at the Centre “fascist” following which Dr Soundararajan picked up an argument with her at the Thoothukudi airport in Tamil Nadu.
Tamilisai accused Sophia who was seated behind her in the flight of raising slogan “Fascist BJP government down, down”. In a video that went viral on social media, Soundararajan was seen losing her cool and arguing with Sophia, a doctoral student of Physics at the University of Montreal, in the arrival lounge of the Thoothukudi airport.
On the complaint filed by the BJP leader, the police arrested Sophia, a native of Thoothukudi, on the charges of causing public nuisance and a breach of public peace under sections of the IPC and the Madras City Police Act, 1888.
She was later produced before the judicial magistrate at Thoothukudi from where she was sent to judicial custody for 15 days.
Leaders of various political parties including the CPI-M, CPI, DMK, Congress and PMK criticized the police "high handedness" and demanded the woman's immediate release.
DMK chief MK Stalin condemned the arrest and demanded that the woman should be released immediately.
“This action of the Tamil Nadu government is anti-democratic and is highly condemnable! She should be released immediately. You will have to arrest lakhs of people who raise slogans like this. I will also raise the slogan. BJP fascist government down, down” Stalin said in his tweet.
Twitter users from across India, mostly from Tamil Nadu, also raised their voice against the arrest and demanded that she be released immediately. Soon, #ReleaseSophia became one of the top trends on the microblogging website.
Here are some of the tweets:
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