The Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, Vinay Kumar, has unearthed a 2010 Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case against Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain and directed the Delhi Police to prosecute them under various sections of the UAPA, a draconian law that successive Congress and BJP governments have used to trample upon democratic civil rights activists time and again. That this case is being dusted off 14 years after the event – supposed “provocative” statements made by Roy and Dr. Hussain during a discussion on the history of Kashmir – reveals that the LG is acting upon the orders of the ruling Modi government, which in its third term is swiftly crushing any and every form of democratic dissent. The LG or Delhi Police have found no evidence that their speeches incited violence and all such sham reasons are actually a facade for using State repression to arrest any and all forms of opposition.
The real reason behind digging up this 14 year old case is to divert the attention away from the recent horrifying militant attack on the bus in Reasi, which has proven to the people that all promises of the Modi government and high talk of peace and security in Kashmir are hollow. All successive governments, from Nehru’s times till Modi today, have historically betrayed the Kashmiri people. It is therefore every person’s democratic right to oppose the unjust policies of this government, whether it is in Kashmir or Manipur. We have a right to speak against rising unemployment, communalism and every form of oppression of the masses. It is the duty of every progressive and conscientious person to oppose this decision vehemently and stand up for the democratic civil right to dissent.
Naujawan Bharat Sabha demands that the cases slapped against Roy and Hussain be scrapped and draconian laws like UAPA be repealed immediately!
