NEW DELHI: Congress slammed Modi government’s ‘double standards’ after a professor at Ashoka University was arrested for a ‘thoughtful’ social media post against violence, whilst BJP ministers faced no consequences for allegedly ‘demeaning’ the armed forces.Ali Khan Mahmudabad, head of the political science department at Ashoka University, was apprehended for his Operation Sindoor remarks. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said, “His only mistake is that he wrote this post. His other mistake is his name.”Following two FIRs with serious charges concerning national sovereignty, Mahmudabad was arrested on Sunday. His legal representative, Kapil Balyan, confirmed that the court granted police custody for two days following a complaint from the Haryana State Commission for Women.Khera criticised the arrest on X, stating that an academic was imprisoned not for inciting violence but for opposing it. He contrasted this with the lack of action against BJP minister Vijay Shah and deputy CM Jagdish Devda for their controversial remarks about the armed forces.Congress alleged that Devda claimed the Indian Army was subservient to PM Modi, whilst Shah had to apologise for comments linking terrorists’ religion with Col Sofiya Qureshi’s faith after the Pahalgam incident.Khera emphasised this was about broader issues of restricted free speech and state suppression of intellectual dissent. He noted Mahmudabad’s distinguished lineage as grandson of former foreign secretary Jagat S Mehta, who served during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure.The arrest followed the Haryana women’s panel’s notice regarding Mahmudabad’s comments, despite his clarification about misinterpretation and assertion of fundamental rights. His posts had questioned the treatment of lynching victims and discussed the media appearances of Col Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.In his facebook post, Mahmudabad had written, “Lastly, I am very happy to see so many right wing commentators applauding Colonel Sophia Qureishi but perhaps they could also equally loudly demand that the victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing and others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens. The optics of two women soldiers presenting their findings is importantly but optics must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it’s just hypocrisy. When a prominent Muslim politicians said “Pakistan Murdabad” and was trolled by Pakistanis for doing so- Indian right wing commentators defended him by saying “he is our mulla.” Of course this is funny but it also points to just how deep communalism has managed to infect the indian body politic.”Another post under scrutiny targetted those who were favouring war. In the post on facebook, Mahmudabad wrote, “War has gone from being somewhat self contained to now being everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Civilians have always been impacted by war but due to military technology the impact is now exponentially much more than even two centuries ago. So when you clamour for war or you call for a country to be wiped out then what exactly are you asking? For the genocide of an entire people? I know Israel is getting away with doing this – and some Indians admire this- but do we really want to advocate the wholesale murder of children as potential future enemies? Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also came in support of the Ashoka University professor and said, “The Indian National Congress stands with our Armed Forces, bureaucrats, academicians, intellectuals and their families. I condemn any character assassination, vilification, trolling, harassment, unlawful arrest of any individual and vandalism of any business entity, either through fringe elements or through official state machinery. The arrest of Ashoka University professor, Ali Khan Mahmudabad shows how fearful the BJP is of any opinion, disliked by them.”“This follows a chain reaction which began from targeting the grieving widow of our martyred Naval officer, our Foreign Secretary and his daughter, and the deplorable disparaging comments made by a BJP Minister for a serving Colonel in the Indian Army. Instead of sacking their own Madhya Pradesh’s Deputy CM & Minister, who made disgusting statements against our valiant Armed Forces, BJP-RSS is hellbent in casting a narrative that anybody who represents Pluralism, questions the government or simply performs his professional duty in the service of the nation, is a threat to its existence. Supporting the Armed Forces and the government, when National Interest reigns supreme, does not mean that we cannot question the Government. While National Unity is supreme for the Congress party, BJP should be under no impression that it can foster Dictatorship under the garb of the present developments. Democracy should stand tall,” he added.Operation Sindoor was executed by Indian forces against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7, responding to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.