Now, the veteran Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, has taken refuge in a cartoon by the legendary Indian artist and humorist RK Laxman to express his angst over a recent summons issued to him by the Kolkata Police for his social media post on the rape and murder of a junior woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital.
He has posted that cartoon on his official X handle, featuring a youth — arguably anyone raising their voice against any evil or injustice — being dragged by his shirt collar by a policeman through the street, with passersby watching the scene.
"Of course, you weren't spreading rumours – the charge is you were spreading facts!" read the lines written on the cartoon created on December 26, 1962.
Roy expressed his amusement by posting a "grinning" emoji along with the post.
Although Roy did not make any explanatory statement on his social media wall, it is easily understood that his post was in relation to the recent summons issued to him by Kolkata Police over one of the posts on his social media wall, which he had to ultimately delete.
Earlier this month, Roy had posted on his social media handle a demand for custodial interrogation of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal in connection with the probe in the rape and murder case.
The veteran politician moved the Calcutta High Court for protection against coercive police action, including arrest, after the Kolkata Police issued two notices to question Roy for allegedly spreading misinformation through a particular social media post.
Counsel for Roy informed the court that his client was willing to take down the content he had posted from his X handle. Later on 20 August, in course of the hearing in the matter before the Calcutta High Court, counsel appearing for Roy informed the court his client agreed to take down the content he posted from his X handle.
Thereafter, the West Bengal government counsel told the court that as Roy had agreed to delete the post, the police would not take any action against him and would close the matter. On the same evening the post was deleted from his X wall.
It remains to be seen what the police's reaction to the latest post by the rebel MP will be.
