Arrest of Mumbai girls for Facebook posts "draconian": CPI

NEW DELHI: Terming the arrest of two girls in Mumbai for their Facebook posts on the shutdown during Bal Thackeray's funeral as an "assualt" on freedom of speech, CPI today accused Maharashtra government of being "scared" of Shiv Sena and asked it to own up responsibility for the incident.

Patry National Secretary D Raja decried the action as "draconian" and wondered whether people have even lost their right to express their opinion freely.

"It is an assault on freedom of speech. It is the point of view of young people and they are not dangerous. It was just a comment. Maharashtra government has acted in a facist manner," he said.

Raja, a Rajya Sabha MP, alleged the Prithviraj Chavan government was "scared" of Shiv Sena. "The arrest was a fallout of that (fear). The Chief Minister should take responsibility for the draconian action of the police," Raja said.

Dhada was arrested after she posted comments on social networking site opposing the shutdown in Mumbai after Thackeray died on Saturday. Dhada's friend Renu was arrested for 'liking' the post.