Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said true journalists were being “strangled” in BJP-ruled Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh while those indulging in “tamasha” were getting protection.

“Assamese journalist Parag Bhuyan, who exposed corruption of BJP leaders, died under mysterious circumstances. My condolences to his family. Those doing true journalism are being strangled in Assam, Madhya Pradesh or Uttar Pradesh while those doing tamasha are getting protection,” Rahul tweeted.

The Congress leader appeared to be referring to the interim bail granted to Republic TV managing director Arnab Goswami by the Supreme Court while many other journalists and social activists are languishing in jail.

On Wednesday, when Goswami was granted bail and the Supreme Court spoke about upholding personal liberty, Rahul had tweeted: “Uttar Pradesh journalist Vinay Tewari has been beaten up brutally by BJP goons. As rights are being discussed, I thought let us ask whether rights will be remembered only in case of select journalists or also for victims like Vinay Tewari.”

Tewari was assaulted for highlighting irregularities in the MGNREGA scheme. The body of another journalist, Suraj Pandey, was found on Thursday in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao. There have been several instances of journalists being arrested in Uttar Pradesh for reporting facts or posting unpalatable tweets. Journalist Pawan Jaiswal had been booked last year for reporting on children being served salt and chappatis in their midday meal in Uttar Pradesh.

The Supreme Court’s swift intervention in Goswami’s case evoked widespread criticism for what many saw as selective outrage. Several politicians and activists felt that the court had not intervened when bail had been denied in more important cases.

Asked for comment, Congress veteran and former finance minister P. Chidambaram said on Thursday: “Hundreds of people have been denied liberty by the high courts. They don’t seem to be on the same wavelength with the Supreme Court on the issue of granting bail. Even the Supreme Court faltered in some cases. A few judgments of the Supreme Court and the high courts have been very disappointing.”

Chidambaram, who has not only been a top politician who held several cabinet portfolios but is also a senior member of the Bar, was denied bail several times and spent over 100 days in jail last year in the INX Media case.

Senior lawyer and Congress leader Kapil Sibal welcomed what Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said about liberty during Goswami’s bail hearing but raised critical questions.

“A judge speaks for the Supreme Court. The question is whether the other judges speak in one voice on the question of freedom of citizens. A Kerala journalist going to Hathras for coverage was denied bail by the Supreme Court as well as the high court,” Sibal said, referring to Siddique Kappan who has been in custody for 40 days now.

Sibal went on: “What about the liberty of anti-CAA protesters who were put in jail? What about the liberty of JNU and Jamia students who are languishing in jail after being charged under the UAPA? What about activists Varavara Rao, Stan Swamy and others?”

While the activists charged in the Bhima-Koregaon case are in jail for the last two years, both Rao and Swamy are over 80 years old and seriously ill, but their bail petitions have been repeatedly rejected.

Senior lawyer Indira Jaising tweeted: “Is there more than one Supreme Court? Kapil Sibal says the journalist who went to cover Hathras did not get bail, why doesn’t the Supreme Court have a policy on bail for all? Why was P. Chidambaram’s anticipatory bail application not listed for two days?”

The president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Dushyant Dave, had in a letter to the secretary-general of the Supreme Court pointed to the perceived selective listing of matters “for the last eight months during the Covid pandemic”.

Dave had said: “While thousands of citizens remain in jails, languishing for long periods while their matters filed before the Supreme Court are not getting listed for weeks and months, it is, to say the least, deeply disturbing as to how and why every time Goswami approaches the Supreme Court, his matter gets listed instantly.”