New Delhi, Former Supreme Court judge Justice B.N. Srikrishna in an interview to a national daily remarked on lack of freedom of expression, which drew a sharp response from the Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.

Justice Srikrishna said, "Today, things are very bad. I must confess, if I were to stand in a public square and say I don't like the face of the Prime Minister, somebody might raid me, arrest me, throw me in jail without giving me any reason. Now that is something that all of us should oppose as citizens."

Rijiju, in a tweet on Saturday, said: "Those people who speak all the time without any restrictions to abuse the popularly elected Prime Minister are crying about freedom of expression! They will never talk about emergency imposed by Congress party and never dare to criticise some regional party CMs."

In a series of tweets responding to a tweet, which cited a portion of the interview given by Justice Srikrishna (retd), Rijiju said "If it's true then the statement itself is demeaning the institution he has served."

Rijiju, in a tweet, said: "I don't know if a former judge of the Supreme Court has actually said this. If it's true then the statement itself is demeaning the institution he has served."