Stan Swamy, 83, was arrested on October 8 in the Bhima Koregaon case (Archive)
New Delhi:
Opposition leaders on Wednesday expressed solidarity with activist Stan Swamy, who has been indicted under the UAPA counter-terrorism law, and demanded that the strict law be repealed.
The leaders also urged the public to break their silence on the government’s efforts to “undermine the rights of the people.”
The National Investigative Agency (NIA) had arrested the 83-year-old activist on October 8 in the Bhima Koregaon case. Activists and political leaders have been condemning Swamy’s arrest, saying that even though he is a Parkinson’s disease patient and suffers from other health problems, he is now in jail.
At a press conference organized by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren claimed that the government was trying to silence the voices of marginalized communities.
In a video message, he alleged that under the current government, unity, integrity and democratic structures were under attack.
“The NDA government sitting in the center today: it is silencing the voices of those who speak on behalf of the Adivasis, Dalits and other marginalized groups, states not governed by the BJP are being harassed, the various constitutional mechanisms of our country they are being weakened today by different groups and organizations for their own political gain under a hidden agenda ”, he stated.
“It is forcing us to reflect on where the country is going. He crossed all boundaries today when someone like Stan Swamy was arrested. He is someone who has been working in Jharkhand for years, in the remote and faraway villages, roaming the jungles, just to be able to reach the Adivasis, Dalits and minority populations here. This is extremely disappointing. Stan Swamy also suffers from many diseases, “Soren said.
CPI (M) Secretary General Sitaram Yechury, as well as DMK’s Kanimozhi, urged civil society groups and the public to break their silence on “the government’s attacks on the rights of the people.”
“Today we have to make a decision as political parties, as the whole of society, whether to silently accept what is happening or say that this is enough and fight together. If we accept this, in a few years we will not see an Indian democracy that we know. law that this government has passed has undermined the rights of the people. It is time to break the silence, “Kanimozhi said in the video conference.
16 people have been arrested under the Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the case, including three cultural activists from Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), Ramesh Gaichor, Sagar Ghogre and Jyoti Jagtap, as well as thinkers, writers and academics Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Shoma Sen, Hany Baby, lawyers, Sudha Bharadwaj, Surendra Gadling, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, who are also trade unionists and activists. Sudhir Dhawale, Mahesh Raut and Rona Wilson are also in prison.
“The UAPA has been the subject of flagrant abuse, such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), this law should be removed from our statute book. However, this is not the subject of a single law. All these draconian laws They are being used to silence all dissidents against the government. These arrests are not isolated cases; they are part of an agenda to establish a rabidly theocratic Hindutva Rashtriya which was their plan from the beginning. This cannot be accepted. We must break this silence. For evil to succeed, good only requires silence. People need to restore secular democracy, “argued Sitaram Yechury.
Congressional leader Shashi Tharoor said Stan Swamy deserves “respect and support,” not a jail sentence.
Tharoor said he was convinced that “no Jesuit will indulge in violence or draw anyone into violence.”
“This must end. I call on the government to be fair and at least give him bail … we stand in solidarity with Stan Swamy,” he said.
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