Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has strongly opposed the recommendation of Law Commission of India to retain the sedition law terming it appalling.

Elyas Thumbe, national general secretary of SDPI stated in a press release that the recent recommendation of the Law Commission of India to retention of sedition law is appalling. He said that the Commission had in its earlier report favoured a wider definition of sedition and hate speech with a distinction between the two. But now anything that goes against the ruling regime’s flawed policies is labelled as sedition, he said, adding that “rights activists, leaders of Opposition parties and even students are conveniently charged under sedition” for exercising their right to free speech. He said that any recommendation must not deprive any citizen of the fundamental right to freedom of speech as guaranteed by the Constitiution.

Thumbe said that how come sedition law that was introduced by the British 153 years ago to charge freedom fighters is being retained and applied to citizens of Independent India which treats the citizens who speaks against antagonistic rule of the regime.

The SDPI leader demanded the Law Commission of India to exercise its right judiciously and discard the provisions that were used against the country’s freedom fighters.