Soon after the arrest of Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said arresting one voice of truth will only give rise to a thousand more.
Mr Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through one of his tweets, officials said.
Mr Gandhi alleged that every person exposing BJP's hate and bigotry is a threat to the party, while noting that truth will prevail.
"Every person exposing BJP's hate, bigotry and lies is a threat to them. Arresting one voice of truth will only give rise to a thousand more," he said on Twitter.
"Truth always triumphs over tyranny," the former Congress chief said, using the hashtag "#DaroMat".
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also extended his support to the arrested journalist.
"Altnews & @zoo_bear have been in the forefront of exposing the bogus claims of the Vishguru, who has struck back with a vengeance characteristic of him. Delhi Police, reporting to the Union Home Minister, has long lost any pretensions of professionalism and independence," he tweeted.
Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore demanded an immediate release of the journalist.
"After 2014, India's few fact-checking services, especially @AltNews, perform an important service in our post-truth political environment rife with disinformation and lies," he said.
"They debunk falsehoods whoever perpetrates them. Now it's Co founder arrested by Delhi police under Shah. To arrest @zoo_bear is a blunder by DelhiPolice. He should be released immediately," he tweeted.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
