Naming and shaming anti-CAA protesters: Congress, SP, BSP hail Allahabad High Court order to Yogi government

New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress on Monday welcomed the Allahabad High Court's order directing the Lucknow administration to remove posters of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests in December.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today said,  the Allahabad High Court has taught a lesson to the Uttar Pradesh government on the rights of the common man.

Taking to social media, she tweeted, "The Allahabad High Court has taught a lesson to the Uttar Pradesh government on the rights of the common man. The UP government should never think that law is the puppet in their hands." 

Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu also said, "The right to privacy is a fundamental right but the government ignored it and put up posters of the accused which were unconstitutional and undemocratic," adding that the court's decision has "exposed" the undemocratic and anti-constitution stand of the Adityanath government.

"The government neither has the knowledge of the right to privacy of citizens nor any respect for the constitution. The people of the state are fed up with this government. We welcome the high court's decision," SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav said in Lucknow.

BSP supremo Mayawati too welcomed the decision. Taking to Twitter, she said, "The BSP welcomes the honourable high court's order directing the administration to remove hoardings of those accused of violence during the anti-CAA protests after taking suo motu cognisance of the matter." 

Earlier in the day, the Allahabad High Court ordered the removal of hoardings put up by the Uttar Pradesh government, with names, addresses and photographs of those who were accused of violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

"The court has ordered that the posters should be removed before March 16. The court will again hear the matter on March 16," said advocate SN Naseem.

Meanwhile, activist-politician Sadaf Jafar and former IPS officer SR Darapuri whose photos with personal details had appeared on the posters hailed the court order. 

Reacting to the order, Sadaf Jafar told PTI, "The judgment is extremely welcome because it reiterates our faith in the Constitution of the country, and also in the judiciary. Secondly, it also send a strong signal to the government that the state shall be run not by authoritarianism, but by the rule of law."

She, however, regretted that their personal details have reached people and the threat to their lives was still not over.

S R Darapuri told PTI, "We welcome the judgment because it proved that in UP, the rule of law will prevail, not the anarchy (aarajaktaa) of the Yogi (Adityanath) government. This is a victory of democracy and defeat of dictatorship."

He added that earlier he had written to the DGP and the home secretary that if any untoward incident took place because of the "illegal actions", then they "will be responsible for it". He said around six posters featuring him were put up in parts of the state capital.

Reacting to the court order, UP chief minister's Media Adviser Mrityunjay Kumar said 'leniency towards rioters was impossible in the Yogiraj'. In a tweet, he said the High Court order should be understood in the right perspective and vowed to 'expose' the rioters.

The posters bearing photographs, names, and addresses of those accused of vandalism during the anti-CAA protests had come up at major road crossings in Lucknow late on Thursday night on the directions of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. 

Taking suo moto cognizance of public interest litigation on the issue, the High Court on Sunday termed the act of putting up photos of protesters as "unjust". Lawyer KK Rai had on Sunday said that the court has observed that the act is an encroachment into a citizen`s right to privacy, adding "The court observed that the government could do something to rectify it." 

Earlier on Thursday, the district administration had installed hoardings with photographs and addresses of 53 anti-CAA protesters at prominent crossings across the city. The hoardings included pictures of Shia cleric Maulana Saif Abbas, former IPS officer SR Darapuri and Congress leader Sadaf Jafar, all of whom were named as accused in the violence that swept the state capital on December 19 last year. 

(With Agency Inputs)