The Shiv Sena has said citizens have lost the freedom to criticise the government’s wrong policies and those who still muster the courage face retributive action like the sedition charge and imprisonment.

A scathing editorial in Saamana, the Sena’s mouthpiece, said: “Why should the Indian people not receive the benefits of low crude oil price in the international market? Will the citizens get a satisfactory reply to this question? Whoever speaks about this is branded anti-national. Before 2014, actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar had raised questions about petroleum prices. Why are these celebrities silent when petrol price has crossed Rs 100?”

The Sena’s attack came after the new Maharashtra Congress chief, Nana Patole, withdrew his threat to disrupt the screening and shooting of films by actors such as Bachchan and Kumar if they didn’t speak up against rising petroleum prices. The Congress has been extremely critical of the Centre but doesn’t support violent tactics.

Rahul Gandhi, who is the leading voice in the Opposition against Modi’s policies, tweeted on Tuesday: “Covid — calamity for you, opportunity for the government. After petrol-diesel-gas prices, plan to increase train fares. The middle class under assault of jumlas (fake promises).”

Rahul was referring to Modi’s call for “aapda mein awsar (opportunity in calamity)”.

The Congress has often accused the Modi government of profiteering off people’s miseries and pursuing policies that helped some crony capitalists to multiply their wealth during the coronavirus-induced crisis.

Congress communications chief Randeep Surjewala on Tuesday posted a video in which Modi as Gujarat chief minister is sermonising on the ill-effects of high petroleum prices, describing it as a failure of the central government.

Questioning the silence of certain actors who had not questioned the latest rounds of price rise, the Saamana editorial said: “They are silent or have been silenced? The other credible interpretation is that the citizens had the freedom to express their opinions before 2014. Nobody was dumped in jail on the sedition charge for raising questions about government policies before 2014. We have now lost the freedom to express our grief over petrol-diesel prices.”

It added: “Why blame the celebrities? When people don’t have the freedom to support the farmers standing against the bulldozer of new farm laws, how do we expect actors to speak against petrol-diesel prices? …. All the people can do is silently face the heat of the fire ignited by petrol-diesel prices. Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister used to call the Congress robbers when petrol-diesel prices were hiked then. If somebody repeats the charge today, he will rot in jail. Those who happily suffer the high prices are patriots today and those who oppose are traitors.”

The Sena asked the BJP to deploy its energies on bringing down the prices, which would provide relief to “Ram bhakts”, instead of running a drive to collect donations for the upcoming Ram temple. It also made fun of the Prime Minister’s promise to create a “Sonar Bangla” while forcing the country to grapple with a savage increase in petrol-diesel prices.

Ridiculing Modi for blaming the Congress for the burden on the people, the editorial said: “Previous governments established Indian Oil, ONGC, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Mumbai High. They explored oil wells in the sea. Modi is selling these public sector units. It is exposing its mental bankruptcy by blaming the previous governments.”