The period between 2020 and 2026 has witnessed a chilling pattern of state-sponsored intimidation in Congress-ruled states, where the administrative machinery has been repeatedly weaponised to silence political dissent and alternative narratives. From the aggressive filing of multiple FIRs across different districts for a single social media post to the “mechanical” and arbitrary arrests of journalists and citizens critical of the establishment, these actions reflect a deep-seated intolerance for free speech under the guise of maintaining public order.
Recent judicial interventions, particularly by the Supreme Court in 2026 regarding overreach in states like Telangana, have finally begun to call out this systemic harassment, highlighting how “secular” regimes often employ the harshest legal measures to suppress critics while simultaneously claiming to be the vanguards of democratic values. This era of crackdown has not only stifled digital expression but has also exposed a disturbing tendency to treat political satire and legitimate criticism as cognizable offenses, effectively turning the police force into an enforcement wing for partisan interests.
This report documents 18 incidents between 2020 and 2026 where Congress-led administrations utilised the legal machinery to file FIRs against journalists and influencers. These cases highlight a systematic attempt to suppress dissenting voices and penalise criticism through state-sponsored litigation and police action.
Telangana 2026: UAPA-style crackdown on independent media
The Congress administration in Telangana escalated its war on dissent on April 27, 2026, by invoking draconian, UAPA-like provisions against the independent journalist known as TeluguScribe. In a chilling move to silence digital critics, the state police targeted the commentator for social media posts that dared to analyse and criticise the government’s failing policies. By labelling journalistic scrutiny as “provocative” and “threatening to public order”, the regime has sent a clear message that questioning the Congress establishment in Telangana will be met with the harshest legal weapons available.
Hyderabad 2025: Arresting political expression and artistic satire
On December 9, 2025, the Telangana police arrested the state BJP social media team, including Sumiran KV, Ajay, and Tatipamula Sai Kiran Goud, for the “crime” of highlighting Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s governance failures. The arrests stemmed from a creative poster depicting the CM on a throne with multiple arms representing allegations of temple demolitions and real estate influence. Using a municipal employee as a proxy complainant, the government effectively criminalized political satire and peaceful protest, further cementing its reputation for administrative intolerance.
Telangana 2025: Orwellian surveillance and history sheeting of social media users
In an unprecedented assault on privacy and free speech, the Telangana Congress government in September, 2025, directed police to open “Suspect/History Sheets” against social media users. This Orwellian directive treats ordinary citizens and digital influencers as “habitual offenders” and puts them under constant surveillance even without any criminal conviction. By weaponising the Police Manual and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the regime has created a system where an uncomfortable tweet can land a citizen on a permanent police watch list, effectively turning the state into a digital panopticon.
Karnataka 2024: Influencer detained for challenging the congress elite
The intolerance of the Karnataka Congress government was on full display in December, 2024, when the Belagavi Police arrested social media influencer Mohit Narasimhamurthy. His offense was the use of sharp language against CM Siddaramaiah and Dy CM D.K. Shivakumar in a video critiquing their administration. While the state claimed the language was “insulting,” the swift arrest of a citizen for expressing frustration with the political elite highlights a growing trend of using police power to shield top Congress leaders from public accountability.
Hyderabad 2024: Lawfare against nationalism and Sinha
In July, 2024, the Hyderabad Cyber Crime wing targeted popular nationalist influencer Raushan Sinha (@MrSinha_) with an FIR following a complaint by a pro-Congress advocate. The state apparatus was mobilized to penalize Sinha for his commentary on Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary speech, with the complainant alleging that the influencer’s posts “provoked Hindus”. This use of lawfare serves as a blatant attempt to intimidate prominent nationalist voices who expose the ideological contradictions of the Congress party on the national stage.
Goa-Bengaluru 2024: The cross-state hunt for ‘Bhiku Mhatre’
In a dramatic display of state overreach, Karnataka Police travelled all the way to Goa on May 18, 2024, to arrest Vinit Naik, the man behind the popular ‘Bhiku Mhatre’ handle. Based on a complaint by a Congress worker, the government accused Naik of creating “enmity” for a post that critiqued CM Siddaramaiah’s stance on wealth distribution. The arrest of a citizen from his home in another state for a social media video demonstrates the lengths to which the Congress will go to suppress narratives that challenge their minority appeasement politics.
Hyderabad 2024: Silencing intellectual dissent and influential voices
The Indian Youth Congress filed a co-ordinated complaint in April, 2024, targeting high-profile influencers and intellectuals Rishi Bagree, Arun Pudur, and Ajeet Bharti. The FIRs were based on shared videos of a Rahul Gandhi speech in Telangana, which the Congress labeled as “morphed”. By targeting these influential figures simultaneously, the party attempted to cripple the digital ecosystem that holds them accountable, using “fact-checking” as a facade for political censorship.
Bengaluru 2024: Criminalising digital satire and instagram trolls
The Karnataka Congress Legal Cell’s hypersensitivity led to an FIR on January 12, 2024, against Instagram accounts ‘troll_kannadiga_1’ and Kritika Kriti. The high-grounds police booked them for posting morphed images and abusive comments regarding CM Siddaramaiah. By invoking sections related to promoting communal enmity over satirical posts, the state government has significantly lowered the bar for what constitutes a cognizable offense, targeting low-level digital satire with the full force of the law.
Kolkata 2020: Early patterns of intimidation against Rishi Bagree
The Congress party’s long-standing vendetta against digital dissent was evident as early as December 1, 2020, when the West Bengal Congress filed an FIR against influencer Rishi Bagree. The complaint targeted a tweet regarding the farmers’ protests, accusing him of “insulting” Sonia Gandhi and trying to cause riots. This early instance of lawfare set the stage for years of systemic harassment, where any criticism of the Gandhi family is treated as a threat to national peace, revealing the dynastic sensitivity that drives their crackdown on free speech.
The Great Media Pushback: Challenging the congress narrative of victimhood
During a high-stakes press conference in December, 2025, a senior journalist delivered a stinging rebuke to Congress leader Pawan Khera, dismantling the party’s frequent excuse that media bias causes their electoral defeats. When Khera attempted to blame the press for the opposition’s failure, the veteran journalist retorted that the Congress is losing not because of the media, but due to the “Jungle Raj” and systemic corruption that defined their own rule. He pointedly asked why the party failed to win even when they held absolute control over the media machinery during the UPA era, effectively exposing the Congress’s tendency to use the press as a scapegoat for their own governance failures and lack of public trust.
Bengaluru 2025: Co-ordinated lawfare against Arnab Goswami and Amit Malviya
In a blatant attempt to silence nationalistic media and political strategy, the Congress-led Karnataka government filed a co-ordinated FIR in May, 2025, against Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and BJP’s Amit Malviya. Orchestrated by the Indian Youth Congress legal cell, the complaint utilized the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to book them for “wanton provocation” and “intentional insult.” This legal assault at the High Grounds police station in Bengaluru highlights the party’s strategy of using state power to penalize high-profile figures who challenge the Congress narrative or expose political inconsistencies.
Karnataka 2025: Targeting Doordarshan journalists for nationalistic coverage
In May, 2025, the Karnataka Congress administration extended its crackdown to public service broadcasting by filing complaints against Doordarshan journalists Ashok Shrivastava and Prakhar Shrivastava. A state Congress leader accused them of making “communal” and “derogatory” statements during a programme that critiqued Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s stance during a period of military tension with Pakistan. By labelling a nationalistic critique of political leadership as “traitorous” or “communal,” the Congress state machinery has sought to intimidate journalists who prioritize national security interests over partisan sensibilities.
Telangana 2025: The arrest of pulse news journalists for critiquing the CM
In a swift and aggressive display of power, the Hyderabad police arrested Pulse News journalists Revathi Pogadadanda and Tanvi Yadav in March, 2025, for broadcasting content critical of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. The Congress state social media unit moved to criminalise what they deemed “offensive” content, initially attempting to apply stringent Section 111 (Organised Crime) of the BNS. Although a court eventually granted them bail and threw out the organised crime charges, the incident remains a dark chapter in Telangana’s governance, where independent women journalists were hauled into custody for merely performing their professional duties.
Hyderabad 2024: Criminalising civic complaints as “false propaganda”
The intolerance of the Telangana government reached an absurd peak in June, 2024, when an FIR was filed against journalist Revathi for merely reporting on a civic issue-a power failure in Hyderabad. A state government official alleged that her post complaining about the outage was “false propaganda” intended to defame the state and the electricity department. This case stands as a shocking example of how the Congress administration treats legitimate public grievances and local reporting as criminal defamation, effectively trying to muzzle any journalist who highlights the failure of basic public services.
Bengaluru 2024: Targeting Ajeet Bharti for exposing political agendas
In June, 2024, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee mobilised its legal wing to file an FIR against popular YouTuber Ajeet Bharti. The complaint alleged that Bharti spread “enmity” by discussing Rahul Gandhi’s historical stance on the Babri Masjid and Ram Mandir in a video on X. By using a lawyer-secretary of the party to initiate police action against a digital commentator, the Congress continues to use the legal system to police political discourse and punish those who bring up sensitive historical and ideological topics that the party finds inconvenient.
Karnataka 2023: Sudhir Chaudhary targeted for reporting on minority subsidies
The Karnataka police filed an FIR against senior journalist Sudhir Chaudhary in September, 2023, following his report on the state’s commercial vehicle subsidy scheme specifically for minority communities. The government accused him of “conspiring to disrupt communal harmony” and “spreading misinformation,” despite the fact that the report focused on the documented details of the state’s own policy. This use of “communal harmony” laws to target journalists who question minority-specific allocation of public funds is widely seen as an attempt to suppress debate on the Congress’s policy of appeasement.
Rajasthan 2022: Lawfare against Rohit Ranjan over doctored video allegations
In July, 2022, the Rajasthan Congress government filed an FIR against Zee Hindustan anchor Rohit Ranjan in Jaipur, accusing him of broadcasting a doctored video of Rahul Gandhi. Despite the channel withdrawing the content and issuing an apology, the Congress proceeded with criminal charges under multiple IPC sections. This incident, occurring in a Congress-ruled state, underscored the party’s uncompromising stance toward media errors involving their top leadership, opting for police action and FIRs rather than traditional regulatory or civil discourse.
Chhattisgarh 2021: Arresting journalists for exposing internal party discord
In a move that smacked of authoritarianism, the Chhattisgarh Congress government arrested journalist Madhukar Dubey and technical assistant Avinash Palliwar in October, 2021. The arrests followed a report on a sting operation where Congress MLAs were seen criticising their own Chief Minister, Bhupesh Baghel. Instead of addressing the internal dissent, the regime booked the media workers for extortion and criminal intimidation. This blatant suppression of investigative journalism served as a warning to the local press against exposing the fractures and internal corruption within the state’s ruling party.
Mumbai 2020: The 100-FIR blitzkrieg against Arnab Goswami
The most unprecedented display of political vendetta in modern Indian history occurred in April 2020, when the Congress party filed over 100 FIRs across the country against Arnab Goswami in a single day. The “blitzkrieg” followed Goswami’s pointed questions to Sonia Gandhi regarding her silence over the horrific lynching of Hindu Sadhus in Palghar. The party’s massive legal mobilization was accompanied by a physical attack on Goswami and his wife by alleged Congress workers in Mumbai. This massive wave of lawfare remains a primary example of the party’s intolerance toward being questioned on matters of Hindu-specific issues and its willingness to paralyse the legal system to harass a single critic.
The collective weight of these incidents paints a chilling portrait of a “secular” establishment that has systemically weaponised the state’s legal and police machinery to crush political dissent. Between 2020 and 2026, the consistent use of multi-district FIRs, draconian surveillance tactics, and arbitrary arrests reveals an ideological war against the freedom of expression. By treating journalists as criminals and social media influencers as “habitual offenders,” these administrations have sought to create an atmosphere of fear, where questioning the ruling elite or exposing policy failures is met with immediate institutional retaliation.
Ultimately, this era of crackdown exposes the hypocrisy of those who claim to protect democratic values while using police power to shield a specific political dynasty and its leadership from public scrutiny. The targeting of nationalistic voices and the criminalisation of legitimate civic grievances represent a desperate attempt to control the narrative through coercion rather than conviction. These actions serve as a stark reminder that when “secular” regimes lose the battle of ideas, they often resort to the tyranny of the FIR to silence the heartbeat of a vibrant democracy.
