"Reminds us of Emergency days": BJP leaders condemn Goswami's arrest

New Delhi: Minister Prakash Javadekar has come down on the arrest of Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami.

In a series of tweets Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting hinted at a Congress hand in the incident.

"We condemn the attack on press freedom in #Maharashtra. This is not the way to treat the Press. This reminds us of the emergency days when the press was treated like this," the minister tweeted.

Smriti Irani also tweeted in support of Republic TV, alleging media suppression in the arrest. "Those in the free press who don't stand up today in support of Arnab, you are now tactically in support of fascism," she said. "You may not like him, you may not approve of him, you may despise his very existence but if you stay silent, you support suppression. Who speaks if you are next ?"

Javadekar alleged a Congress vendetta and pointed fingers at Sonia Gandhi for what he said was a "fascist" mindset on display in Maharashtra.

Goswami was arrested on Wednesday morning by Alibaugh police from his residence in the recently-reopened suicide abetment case of interior designer Anvay Naik in 2018.