Freedom of speech is indispensable to a democracy. But after BJP demanded a ban on certain scenes in Tamil star's movie 'Mersal', people have been pointing out how freedom of speech has been caught by its throat and artistic license has been compromised with.

As this controversy rages on, opposition and citizens alike have come forward to slam the saffron party for its move to muzzle criticism and creative expression in the country.

Rahul Gandhi took a clever jibe at PM Modi and tweeted:

Mr. Modi, Cinema is a deep expression of Tamil culture and language. Don't try to demon-etise Tamil pride by interfering in Mersal — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 21, 2017

Taking a dig at the BJP’s attempts to silence criticism, former Union finance minister P Chidambaram said

Notice to film makers: Law is coming, you can only make documentaries praising government's policies. — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) October 21, 2017

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor too jumped in and pointed out how the party has always stood for freedom of expression

Remember: @INCIndia stands for freedom of expression, in or out of power. Creative freedom is only safe in the hands of those who value it. https://t.co/1oLZi3Bm7D — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 21, 2017

But well, the claim is good for rhetoric and scoring political points but is unbelievable, given Congress's questionable past in this area. A Twitter user took on Tharoor and demolished his claim completely and did it in style, proving how Congress stands up for freedom of expression only when it's not in power.

In a Twitter thread, the user listed numerous such instances (29 when we checked last) where Congress suffocated freedom of speech.

In fact, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first one to kill free speech when he brought the first amendment to India’s Constitution in 1951, which imposed “reasonable restrictions” on speech.

This is how Nehru curbed FoS through 1st Amendment: 1. Reasonable restrictions2. Foreign States3. Public order4. Incitement to an offence— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) February 24, 2017

Then came the bullying. In one of the first instances of the government attempting to silence an artist, a 29-year-old Majrooh Sultanpuri was jailed for writing against Nehru and khadi.

2. Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote this poem on Nehru. He was arrested, spent ONE YEAR in jail. https://t.co/MFjxR8Ajfw https://t.co/4y04SAsenx pic.twitter.com/zbZQ315rVH — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

Further, many such movies which criticised the government and were considered too 'radical' were banned by the Nehru government

3. THIS was how the Censor Board operated under Jawaharlal Nehru. https://t.co/cnUAq9acUR pic.twitter.com/pF3MlkiSYK — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

In 1988, India became the first country to ban Salman Rusdie's controversial novel 'The Satanic Verses' much before the Iranian fatwa. The ban from Rajiv Gandhi’s government prevented the book from being imported to India, and is still in place.

4. Rajiv Gandhi BANNED (import) of Satanic Verses, making India the FIRST in the world to do so. (via @JaiSharma__) https://t.co/cWjg82GWbL — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

In 2006, a Danish paper published a series of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that provoked protests across the Middle East. India also banned them and the then PM Manmohan Singh asked the newspaper to tender an apology and ensure that such acts were not repeated.

5. India BANNED publication of Danish cartoons. Manmohan Singh PERSONALLY DEMANDED an apology from the Danish paper: https://t.co/GVXQBf3xWT — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

Just last year, Bengaluru police arrested a youth for allegedly posting a derogatory remark on the internet against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

6. Some recent examples of upholding Freedom of Expression by the @INCIndia govt in Karnataka. (via @BHARGAV_GN) pic.twitter.com/XC9owore65 — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

Fearing of a backlash from Muslims, the Manmohan govt in 2012 sought to firewall the objectionable cartoons of Prophet Mohammad, published by a French weekly.

7. In 2012, the Indian govt under Manmohan Singh moved to block the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. pic.twitter.com/5lLFetnP5x — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

In the same year, the Manmohan government again asked Google to block access to a movie that disparages Islam and Prophet Mohammed.

8. In 2012, upon Indian govt's request, Google blocked access to an "anti-Islam" film. https://t.co/Xs67eUDEVK pic.twitter.com/ny0jH2WXsq — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

In 2006, Congress president Sonia Gandhi expressed 'outrage' over the publication of cartoons of Prophet Mohammed in European newspapers.

9. Sonia Gandhi PERSONALLY WROTE to the Shahi Imam expressing OUTRAGE over Danish cartoons, soon BANNED by India: https://t.co/Mzfl3sXK2o pic.twitter.com/WADMK9Jwt9 — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

The book, India Independent by French historian and economic Charles Bettelheim, critical of Indian Government's policies, was banned in 1976.

10. @INCIndia BANNED the book 'India Independent' by French historian and economist Charles Bettelheim. (via @KirtivardhanD) pic.twitter.com/GHcYLn3tQV — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

The film starring Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen, Aandhi which had close resemblance with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s life was banned during the emergency.

Same was the fate of Kissa Kusri Ka. The Amrit Nahata film made in 1977 which had close resemblance to the life of Sanjay Gandhi and lampooned the Emergency was banned by Congress.

12. @INCIndia BANNED the film Kissa Kursi Ka. I&B Minister VC Shukla PERSONALLY oversaw the BURNING of the negatives https://t.co/JxV3P4O7HZ pic.twitter.com/VvImYQ7XWQ — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

The Congress party ensured that this dramatized biography of Sonia Gandhi by Spanish writer Javier Moro was never available in Indian bookstores.

13. @INCIndia tried to BAN The Red Sari, DEMANDED from the publishers they WITHDRAW the book. (via @alokmalik) https://t.co/T4ZgbB0Wa7 — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

During the Emergency period, Indira Gandhi government’s leading “propagandist”, Vidya Charan Shukla persuaded Kishore Kumar to sing a propaganda song for Indira Gandhi. When he curtly refused, Shukla banned his songs from All India Radio and Doordarshan.

In 1986, Malayalam playwright PM Antony's drama on Christ, `Christhuvinte Aram Thirumurivu` (the sixth sacred wound of Christ), was banned on religious grounds. The ban on the play also triggered a heated debate on the freedom of expression with several writers and cultural personalities condemning the government decision.

Dan Brown's bestselling book, The Da Vinci Code was banned by Congress on blasphemy grounds.

In 1973 biography, Michael Edwardes in his book raised questions about the effectiveness of Nehru’s political leadership and highlighted differences of opinion and disputes within Congress leadership before independence. The book was subsequently banned.

In 1962,Congress banned the novel, Nine Hours to Rama by the historian Wolpert. It reportedly got banned because it exposed the poor security provided to Gandhi, and hinted at possible incompetence and collusion.

18. @INCIndia BANNED the book AND the film 'Nine Hours to Rama' as it exposed security lapses that led to Bapu's murder (via @Masterstuff2) pic.twitter.com/aGH8A2SOfT — Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) October 22, 2017

The Twitter thread that has been widely shared, meanwhile, continues to grow longer.

So, be it the Congress or BJP, the practice of ban has always been prevalent in India. The culture of randomly targeting art/film for not being in adherence to the ruling party's code of conduct unfortunately, is not new.