Press Club, IWPC Call for Withdrawal of FIR Against Journalist Saba Naqvi

New Delhi: The Press Club of India and the Indian Women’s Press Corp have demanded that the FIR against senior journalist and columnist Saba Naqvi for her now deleted Whatsapp forward be withdrawn.

“It appears that select people are being targeted for their views which is very unfortunate. Time and again, we have seen that it leads to undue harassment of individuals on a subjective basis. We expect the legal system to be more judicious in the execution of its powers,” the IWPC release said. Naqvi is a member of the IWPC.

In its twitter handle, the Press Club of India (PCI) also condemned Delhi Police for including Naqvi in the FIR, saying it "vehemently condemns the lopsided and highhanded manner of Delhi Police,” and called for withdrawal of FIR.

The FIRs are part of a chain of events that followed now suspended ruling BJP national spokesperson Nupur Sharma's controversial remarks against Prophet Muhammad on a national TV channel and another BJP leader Naveen Jindal's tweets against the Prophet. While Sharma has been suspended, Jindal, who was Delhi BJP media unit head, has been expelled.

The controversial remarks by the BJP leaders had evoked a sharp response from several West Asian countries, who demanded a public apology from India.

The government tried to calm the situation by terming the BJP leaders as “fringe elements". It was only after the BJP took action that Delhi Police filed a case against Sharma, Jindal, and also named Hyderabad-based politician Asaduddin Owaisi and senior journalist Saba Naqvi, among others, and others for "inciting people on divisive lines" and "inciting riots".

Naqvi, however, said she had immediately deleted the forward and apologised. "I am committed to the secular and liberal ethos of India and stand against any fundamentalism, hate speech and injustice," she told NDTV.