Several Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha have issued a statement against Assam Police’s successive sedition FIRs against journalists of The Wire.

MPs of the Congress, CPM, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Samajwadi Party said in a statement: “We are extremely concerned by the Assam Police’s harassment of Siddharth Varadarajan, Karan Thapar and other journalists associated with The Wire, misusing Section 152, BNS, to file multiple criminal cases against them which carry the threat of life imprisonment.

“The summons to journalists despite the Supreme Court protection is a blatant attack on press freedom and democracy itself. The BJP government in Assam is misusing rebranded sedition laws to intimidate independent voices and silence criticism. We strongly condemn this and demand its withdrawal.

“We call upon the police to immediately withdraw these mala fide cases and for an end to the use of Section 152 against the media.”

The signatories include Congress’s Jairam Ramesh, Digvijaya Singh, Renuka Chowdhury, Mukul Wasnik, Shaktisinh Gohil, Syed Naseer Hussain and Anil Kumar Yadav M, CPM’s John Brittas, A.A. Rahim and V. Sivadasan, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and R. Girirajan, and SP’s Ramgopal Yadav, Javed Ali Khan and Jaya Bachchan.

The Wire reported: “After several days of effort — both online and in Guwahati — The Wire on Wednesday was finally able to obtain a copy of the Assam Police’s FIR bearing No. 3/2025, PS Crime Branch, Guwahati, dated May 9, 2025, in which founding editor of The Wire Siddharth Varadarajan and consulting editor Karan Thapar have been summoned.

“Others named in the FIR include Satyapal Malik (ex-governor of J&K and Meghalaya, who passed away earlier this month), Najam Sethi (journalist and former caretaker chief minister of Punjab in Pakistan), and Ashutosh Bhardwaj (editor of The Wire Hindi).”