CPI(M) slams arrest of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi in Mumbai

NEW DELHI: Condemning the arrest of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi in Mumbai, the CPI(M) today said it was "outrageous" that he had been slapped with sedition charges for drawing cartoons against corruption.

The party demanded his immediate release and withdrawal of the charges against him, saying "there is an urgent need to review the sedition clause in the Indian Penal Code which is now being misused frequently."

"Trivedi has been arrested for drawing cartoons and publishing them as part of an anti-corruption campaign. It is outrageous that he has been charged with sedition," the CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement.

Arrested for allegedly posting seditious content on his website, Trivedi was remanded to police custody till September 16 by a Mumbai court yesterday.

He was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed in December by a member of Republican Party of India complaining that Trivedi had put up banners mocking the Constitution during an Anna Hazare rally last year in Bandra.