For protesters, getting jobs, passports may get tougher

Posting something on social media deemed "anti-government" could bar people from getting passports and arms licences and joining a protest or staging a blockade could bar people from getting bank loans, government jobs and a host of other services in Bihar & Uttarakhand.

The Bihar police has issued an order saying that people indulging in criminal activities during law and order incidents, violent protests, and demonstrations/sadak jaam will find it difficult to get passports and government jobs. The order further warned that such people would not be given loans of grants from the government if they indulge in any aforementioned activity.

Leader of the opposition in Bihar assembly, Tejashwi Yadav shared a screenshot of the order on his official Twitter handle and attacked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He tweeted: “Nitish Kumar is daring to challenge Hitler and Mussolini's rule, says if anyone takes part in protest by using democratic right against the power system, then you will not get a job. It means they will not even give jobs and will not allow someone to protest."

Following Bihar's footsteps, the Uttarakhand police will also monitor social media posts that they think are “anti-social”. This can have an impact on police verification for passports.

At a conference of police officers Tuesday, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar asked the police to maintain a record of people making “anti-national” or “anti-social” posts on social media, with screenshots as evidence.