Social media user fights back against Goa govt’s attempt to ‘shut down criticism’

Ramanuj Mukherjee, founder of an online legal learning platform, alleges that instead of tackling the concerns raised by tourists about scams, the Goa authorities are using the legal system to suppress his criticism after he shared data on social media indicating a drop in foreign tourist arrivals to the state.

The Indian Express reported on Saturday that Mukherjee, speaking to the publication, criticized the authorities for targeting him with a "baseless police case" instead of addressing the issues of tourist exploitation in Goa.

Mukherjee clarified, the report said, that he did not highlight any specific scams but only shared publicly available data that he cited in his post. It is also reported that Mukherjee stated that if the authorities believed the data was incorrect, they should have provided accurate information, rather than resorting to what he called a misuse of the law to suppress criticism.

Mukherjee was quoted as saying, “It is unfortunate that instead of acting on complaints by thousands of tourists on social media regarding various tourist scams they faced in Goa, which by the way I did not highlight, and merely shared publicly available data which I also cited, the authorities are trying to intimidate me with a baseless police case. They should have put the correct data out there if they think my cited data is wrong instead of what appears to be a misuse of law to shut down criticism. I will counter this intimidation through legal means.”

The complaint, filed by Deputy Director of Tourism Rajesh Kale, accuses Mukherjee of disseminating "false data" that caused "significant annoyance to local businesses" and "induced fear or alarm" within the local community, the news report said.

The publication reported that the police complaint filed by the deputy director of tourism Rajesh Kale read: “The propagation of such false statements not only jeopardises the reputation of our state but also poses a serious threat to public tranquillity. The Department of Tourism is particularly concerned that these actions may be part of a hidden agenda aimed at undermining Goa’s state image.”

“His false assumptions regarding future tourist footfalls in Goa further exacerbate the situation. The statements… appear to have the intent to cause public unrest and may induce individuals to commit offences against the State or against public tranquillity,” it added.

Mukherjee's post read: "Tourism in Goa is down in dumps. Foreign tourists have abandoned the state already. Look at 2019 v 2023 numbers. Russians and Brits who used to visit annually have opted for Sri Lanka instead. Indian tourists still visiting, but soon likely to ditch it as word spreads about exploitation of tourists while there are so many cheaper comparable locations abroad."