Dravida Munnetra Khazhagam (DMK) Chief M. K. Stalin slammed the police’s actions against Ms. Sofia and questioned, “If you’d put behind bars all those who raise such slogans, how many lakh people would you jail?” He also said he too would repeat her slogan and demanded her release.
Ms. Sofia was arrested at the Tuticorin Airport as she raised slogans against the BJP. She was caught shouting, “Down with Modi, BJP-RSS fascist government” on a flight in the presence of a BJP leader.
Lois Sofia a research scholar in Canada was arrested and remanded with 15 days of judicial custody after Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan filed a complaint against her. The BJP member said, “She was not an ordinary passenger, I suspect some extremist organization behind her.”
The incident took place on Monday when both Lois and Mrs. Tamilisai were travelling on the same flight to Tuticorin. Sofia raised the slogan in the plane when the BJP leader from the front row, came near Sofia to take her bag.
She has been charged with creating “public nuisance” and “attempt to cause alarm.” The father of Sofia, after the incident filed a complaint against Tamilisai Soundararajan for criminal intimidation however the police have not filed any complaint against the BJP Leader.
In a tweet before her arrest, Sofia wrote, “I am on a flight with Tamilisai Soundararajan and really want to shout out ‘Down with Modi – BJP – RSS fascist government’. Will I be kicked off the flight.”
According to the sources, when asked about the complaint, the state BJP President said, “I was upset over the way she blamed my government. At one point, she claimed that her slogan was against the BJP government, not me. But wasn’t she only targeting me when I was on board the flight? I argued with her, even the police had to step in and pacify me. I told them I cannot ignore it if my government is questioned in such a way.”
Mrs. Soundararajan also claimed Sofia to be the part of some group in Canada and alleged to have connectivity with the people behind the Sterlite protest at Tuticorin.
Tamilisai in support of her allegations said, “A person using the word fascist cannot be an innocent person. No innocent girl will use that word. I questioned her. She replied that she has the right to freedom of expression. She shouted that slogan and used the word fascist, raising her fist and all. I thought I shouldn’t ignore a terrorist, so I filed a petition.”
