Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said people are “deeply disturbed” by the first information report filed against 49 eminent personalities who wrote to the prime minister against mob attacks and lynchings in July.

In a letter posted on Twitter, the parliamentarian from Thiruvananthapuram urged Modi to welcome dissent and assure the country of his commitment to uphold freedom of expression. He asked Modi to take a “public stand” against the FIR filed in Bihar.

“Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution guarantees each and every citizen of India the Fundamental Right to freedom of speech and expression,” Tharoor said in his two-page letter. “We are proud citizens of India and revere the values embedded in its Constitution. As the Prime Minister of our country, we look to you to protect these values.”

Tharoor said the citizens did the “right thing” when they brought the matter to his notice. “Mob lynching, whether triggered by communal hatred or triggered by rumours about child kidnapping has become a disease that is spreading rapidly...,” he said.

He stressed that there is no democracy without dissent, and that diverse views and ideologies make India a successful democracy. “As the citizens of India we hope that every one of us fearlessly bring to your notice issues of national importance, so that you can take the lead to address them,” the Congress leader said. “We would like to believe that you too would support the right to freedom of expression so that the ‘mann ki baat’ of the well-meaning citizens of India does not turn into ‘maun ki baat’,” he added.

The parliamentarian also reminded Modi about his speech made before the United State Congress in 2016. In the speech, Modi had called the Constitution a “holy book” and said that “freedom of faith, speech and franchise, and equality of all citizens, regardless of background, are enshrined as fundamental rights”.

“However, some of the actions of your government have contradicted your statement,” he asked the prime minister. “Does this mean that you have changed your opinion on these fundamental issues?”.

Tharoor also wrote about the Supreme Court’s right to dissent statement in 2018: “Dissent is the safety valve of democracy. If dissent is not allowed, then the pressure cooker may burst.”

“Since when has writing a letter of concern to the elected leader of the country – who is responsible for the welfare of each of its citizen irrespective of its caste, creed, gender, religion or political opinion – become a trigger for an FIR,” he questioned Modi. “In the Naya Bharat [New India] that you have promised the nation, are FIRs going to be filed every time a citizen is critical of the government or its policies?”

The Congress leader urged those who believe in freedom of expression to also write to Modi, even if more cases are filed as a result.

Kamal Haasan says SC must ‘uphold justice’ in sedition case

Makkal Needhi Maiam President Kamal Haasan also condemned the FIR filed against the celebrities. “The prime minister seeks a harmonious India,” the actor-turned-politician said in a tweet. “His statements in parliament confirm it. Should not the state and its law follow it in letter and spirit? 49 of my peers have been accused, of sedition, contradicting the PM’s aspirations.”

He also requested Supreme Court to uphold justice with democracy and quash the sedition case.

In their letter to Modi in July, the public figures claimed that the “Jai Shri Ram” slogan had become a “provocative war cry” and the reason for a number of lynchings. A lawyer, Sudhir Kumar Ojha, who claimed that the letter had “tarnished India’s image” and “undermined the impressive performance of the prime minister”, had filed a complaint, which led to the FIR.

According to unidentified police officials, the FIR was lodged in Muzaffarpur district under Indian Penal Code sections related to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace. The charges were reportedly registered after an order by Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari, who ruled on a petition filed by advocate Ojha.

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