Won't apologise, did nothing wrong by sharing Mamata's meme: Priyanka

The Supreme Court, which initially asked for the BJP activist's apology as a pre-condition for availing a bail, later clarified that she would have to apologise for sharing the post only after her release.

Kolkata (West Bengal): Bengal Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) youth wing member Priyanka Sharma, who was released from Alipore jail on Wednesday following Supreme Court orders said that she would not apologise to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for sharing her meme as she believes that she hasn't done anything wrong.

"I will not apologise for Mamata Banerjee's meme as I haven't done anything wrong. I will fight this case," said Sharma while addressing the media at the BJP office.

The BJP activist alleged that she was harassed and tortured inside the jail.

“I was tortured in the jail. I was pushed around by the jailer as if I were a criminal. I was even forced to sign an apology letter,” she alleged.

“They behaved very rudely. The condition inside was very bad,” she added.

Her brother, Rajiv Sharma, alleged that the jail authorities violated the Supreme Court order by not releasing her on Tuesday.

“When we went to the jail yesterday (Tuesday), officials said that they needed a hard copy of the order. It took some time for me to get the hard copy of the order which led to the delay. They did not abide by the Supreme Court order of immediate release,” he said.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday termed Sharma's arrest- “prima facie arbitrary” - and pulled up the West Bengal government for the delay in getting her released.

The apex court, which initially asked for the BJP activists apology as a pre-condition for availing a bail, later clarified that she would have to apologise for sharing the post at the time of her release.

Sharma was accused of sharing Banerjee's meme, wherein the West Bengal CM's face was superimposed on the body of Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra, in the dress she wore to the 2019 Met gala held in New York City.

The youth wing leader was arrested on May 10 by the West Bengal Police under Section 500 (defamation) of the IPC and under other provisions of the Information Technology Act on the complaint of a local Trinamool Congress leader Vibhas Hazra.

Her arrest was followed by protests from the BJP and was termed as an attack on freedom of speech and expression.