Gujarat Police detain TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale over 'fake' tweet on PM's visit

The Gujarat Police on Tuesday arrested Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Saket Gokhale in Ahmedabad hours after he was detained in Jaipur based on a complaint over his tweet in connection with the recent Morbi bridge collapse. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has condemned the arrest, criticising e BJP for its ‘vindictive attitude’.

The Gujarat police said Gokhale’s tweet cited allegedly fake news clippings claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Morbi after the collapse cost over Rs 30 crore.

Gokhale had claimed that the cost was far more than the compensation given to victims. However, Gujarat police said the news report tweeted by Gokhale was forged as no such report had been published and that the government's fact-check unit had flagged the tweet the same day. The complaint against Gokhale's tweet was filed by a BJP functionary and the FIR mentions offences pertaining to forgery, tweeting defamatory content and fear mongering.



Condemning the arrest, Banerjee who was on a visit to Ajmer, said people tweet against her too but such tweets cannot be seen as a threat to national security. “ I condemn this vindictive attitude. Saket has been arrested because he tweeted against the Prime Minister. People also tweet against me... We are really feeling sorry...” the chief minister said at Jaipur airport. “It's very bad and sad.

He is a bright man. He is very popular on social media. He has made no mistake. He recently had a cardiac arrest,” she said. Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said Gokhale's arrest was a 'panic-stricken' reaction by the BJP. Gokhale recently had heart surgery and was on a private visit to Jaipur.

Gokhale told reporters that it was ironic that while he had been arrested, the owner of the Oreva company hired for bridge repair and maintenance was still absconding.