New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took Wednesday a sharp dig at Chief Ministers Uddhav Thackeray, Naveen Patnaik, Mamata Banerjee and Pinarayi Vijanan. The BJP allegedly called the four chief ministers ‘wannabe tin-pot dictators’ without naming them. The jibe came after the Supreme Court stepped in to grant bail to journalist Arnab Goswami and question the Maharashtra government.
“The Supreme Court order today (Wednesday) granting bail to Arnab Goswami upholds fundamental principles of law. These were being blatantly flouted by the Maharashtra police. It is a warning to wannabe ‘tinpot’ dictators there and in Odisha, West Bengal and Kerala that they will be put in their place,” tweeted one of the BJP’s national vice-presidents.
The attack came in the wake of the apex court granting interim bail to Goswami and other co-accused in an abetment to suicide case. The Supreme Court said ‘personal liberty must be upheld’.
In a strong message against the Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra, Justice DY Chandrachud said, “Is this is what our state governments will do to those who have to be nailed? Don’t watch the channel if you don’t like. Left to myself I will not watch. If state governments target individuals in this manner, let’s send out a message that SC is there.”
The BJP leader also took a dig at Bengal, Odisha and Kerala by bracketing them with Maharashtra. The BJP has already upped the ante in Bengal and Kerala – states where it claims its cadres are being allegedly killed for political purposes.