Setalvad, Zubair Were Working On "Poisonous Ecosystem": BJP

New Delhi: Raking up controversy over the arrest of Teesta Setalvad and Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday has slammed those protesting against the detention two and alleging that they were working on a "poisonous ecosystem" where one offender protects the other incase anyone is caught.

Speaking at the party's headquarters here in New Delhi, BJP leader and spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia proclaimed that those opposing the arrest of Setalvad are opposing the judicial actions and questioned whether they have faith in the judiciary or not.

Bhatia also alleged that Setalvad had been acting at the behest of Congress to end Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political career. He slammed the opposition parties for partaking in protest against Setalvad's arrest. He said that the Gujarat Police action against her was taken following the Supreme Court's strong denunciation of her and others for "keeping the pot boiling" and levelling false charges against people, including Modi, over the 2002 riots in the state.

Raising strong allegations, Bhatia said, "Setalvad was a small branch for fanning communal hate. Its headquarters was in the Congress and its president Sonia Gandhi was the chief executive officer."

Bhatia also commented on Alt News' Mohammed Zubair's arrest saying that with Mr. Zubair's arrest, one cannot become a fact-checker only by proclaiming himself to be one. Zubair was arrested late on Monday night, a few days after he strongly condemned BJP leader Nupur Sharma's remarks against Prophet Mohammed.

He was arrested over a tweet from March 2018, wherein he had shared a frame from filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 1983 classic Kissi Se Na Kehna. Bhatia said that Zubair had a chequered past and had posted tweets that had hurt the religious feelings of a large section of Hindu society.

While opposition parties and media outlets have strongly condemned the arrest of Zubair, Bhatia, on the other hand, has said that the world's strongest judicial system exists in the country, and it will do its work.

On Monday, over 400 people, including students, teachers, members of civil society and activists carried a massive protest at Jantar Mantar the arrest of Setalvad by the Gujarat Police, calling it a "pre-planned conspiracy" and an attempt to "silence" other activists. Senior Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Ajay Maken had also participated in the protest. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the BJP-led Centre over the arrest of Zubair and Setalvad, for "trying to expose the truth" and wondered how those who spread hatred among communities are roaming free.