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Published 11:45 IST, February 15th 2021

'Seed of nation's oppn must be eradicated' says BJP as Kejriwal slams Disha Ravi's arrest

After Kejriwal condemned Disha Ravi's arrest, Gaurav Bhatia who is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India on Monday said that a criminal is a criminal.

Reported by: Gargi Rohatgi
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After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called the arrest of 21-year-old Disha Ravi an 'unprecedented attack on Democracy' and opined that supporting farmers was not an act of crime, Gaurav Bhatia who is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India on Monday said that a criminal is a criminal. Taking to Twitter, Gaurav Bhatia said that gender and age are immaterial if the person was not a juvenile. Comparing climate activist Disha Ravi to terrorist Ajmal Kasab, the senior advocate said that even he was 21-years-old when he attacked Mumbai. "Supporting farmers is not a crime but conspiring against India and inciting others surely is," he added. 

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BJP reacts to Disha Ravi's arrest

Reacting to climate activist Disha Ravi's arrest for allegedly disseminating the 'toolkit' related to farmers' protests on social media — the same one shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg, taking to Twitter Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on wrote, "seed of the nation's opposition should be eradicated, whether it is Disha Ravi or someone else."

Earlier on Sunday, 3-time BJP MP PC Mohan likened climate activist Disha Ravi to terrorists Ajmal Kasab and Burhan Wani- whom he pointed out were 21, similar to the remanded activist. Stating that "age is just a number", the Bengaluru Central MP said that no one was above the law. "A crime is a crime," he added. This comes after, Disha Ravi, who is a founder of Friday for Future (India) was remanded to police custody for 5 days by the Patiala House Court, after she was picked by Delhi Police in Bengaluru in connection to the "Toolkit" case. 

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Arvind Kejriwal condemns Disha Ravi's arrest

While the BJP leaders sided with 21-year-old Disha Ravi's arrest, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday condemned the decision of the Centre. Taking to Twitter, Arvind Kejriwal said, "Arrest of 21-year-old Disha Ravi is an unprecedented attack on Democracy. Supporting our farmers is not a crime."

READ | Toolkit Case: BJP MP Likens 21-yr Old Disha Ravi To Ajmal Kasab, Says 'No One Above Law'

Activist arrested for sharing 'toolkit' with Greta Thunberg

The Delhi Police claimed that Disha Ravi, who was arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the force on Saturday, was an editor of the "toolkit Google doc" and "key conspirator" in the document's formulation and dissemination. Police alleged that Ravi and others "collaborated with pro-Khalistani Poetic Justice Foundation to spread disaffection against the Indian State." "She was the one who shared the toolkit doc with Greta Thunberg," the Delhi Police claimed in a tweet.

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Thunberg, a teen climate activist, had shared the "toolkit" to lend her support to the farmers' agitation against the three farm reform laws. In the document, various urgent actions, including creating a Twitter storm and protesting outside Indian embassies, were listed which were needed to be taken to support the farmers' protest.

She was produced before a Delhi court on Sunday and remanded to police custody for five days. The police told the court that her custody was required to probe an alleged larger conspiracy against the Government of India and to ascertain her alleged role relating to the Khalistan movement. 

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Updated 11:45 IST, February 15th 2021

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