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Supreme Court Stay in Assam Sedition Case: SKM Says “BJP Turning India Into Police State”

New Delhi: The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has lashed out at the Assam government and welcomed the Supreme Court’s stay order protecting senior journalists of The Wire from arrest in a sedition case. The farmers’ body accused the ruling BJP of attempting to “convert India into a police state” and undermining constitutional freedoms.

The apex court on August 12 stayed coercive action against The Wire’s founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan, senior journalist Karan Thapar, and members of the Foundation for Independent Journalism in connection with an FIR lodged at Morigaon Police Station. The FIR invoked sedition charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, a provision that closely mirrors the colonial-era Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code.

On the very same day, the Assam Police’s Crime Branch filed a second FIR under BNS provisions, additionally citing offences related to promoting enmity, spreading false information, and criminal conspiracy. Fresh summons were also issued to the journalists despite the SC’s interim relief.

“This proves the Chief Minister of Assam believes himself above the rule of law and refuses to respect even the Supreme Court,” SKM said in a strongly worded statement.

The Supreme Court had already suspended the operation of Section 124A (sedition) in 2022 and referred the matter to a Constitution Bench for review. SKM argued that by reintroducing the same law through the BNS 2023, the BJP-led government is pushing an “authoritarian agenda” and violating citizens’ democratic rights.

The farmers’ coalition recalled that it too had faced sedition charges during the historic farmers’ protest of 2020–21, which it described as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.

SKM urged farmers’ unions, trade unions, journalists’ associations, and mass organisations across India to join hands and launch a united resistance.

“Civil rights are under systematic attack. The people must fight back on the offensive to protect democracy,” the statement concluded.

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