Serial raids, arrest of human rights defenders described attempt to create scaremongering

Sudha Bharadwaj

By A Representative
Prominent civil rights activists have protested against“serial raids” across the country on the homes of activists and public intellectuals, followed by arrest of Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Gautam Navlakha, Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Kranthi Tekula and others, saying this is “nothing but an attempt by the government to strike terror among those who are fighting for justice for the marginalised.”
Calling it an “attempt by the BJP to invent a false enemy" a statement signed by Admiral L Ramdas, Lalita Ramdas, Shabnam Hashmi Shehla Rashid, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Jignesh Mevani, Teesta Setalvad, Swami Agnivesh, and others, says that it is nothing but scaremongering in order to polarise the 2019 elections in its favour.”
The statement says, “The government and the media houses close to the BJP have been trying to spin a false narrative of a Maoist conspiracy since June, 2018. Terms like ‘urban naxals’ are invented in order to stifle any criticism of the government. We have learnt that the Delhi Police, after having arrested Sudha Bharadwaj, waited for Republic TV to arrive before taking her to the court.”

Terming it “a conspiracy to divert attention from the gravity of the Sanatan Sanstha conspiracy to carry out serial bomb attacks on Eid and Ganesh Chaturthi, the statement says, “The same Sanatan Sanstha was also involved in the murder of Gauri Lankesh, as per the ongoing investigations by Karnataka police.” It adds, “By arresting them, the BJP is only exposing its insecurities and its intolerance to any dissent or criticism of its policies.”

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