BJP and Sangh spokespersons reveal real reason for witch hunt against Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand
February 13, 2015
[LINK TO SOLIDARITY
STATEMENT BELOW]
If you saw the programme on IBN7
last night, vilifying Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand, with BJP spokesperson
Sambit Patra and Sangh spokesperson Rakesh Sinha at their asabhya virulent
best, shouting down and intimidating mild Sandeep Pandey and shouting
continuously throughout whatever feisty Priyanka Chaturvedi (Congress
spokesperson) had to say (which was hard-hitting and unanswerable), you would
know what the case against the two activists is really about.
Of course, the charges against
them are of corruption and embezzling of funds collected for Gujarat riot
victims, but when Priyanka Chaturvedi pointed out that the case against them is
dubious because Gujarat police and judiciary are not exactly exemplars of
probity, given the assiduous stalking carried out by the Gujarat police
on behalf of Modi’s man, of a young woman (whose family was paid off/
intimidated in classic Hindutva style, ending in the woman claiming gratitude for being stalked) they had no
answer. (She could have added the blatant miscarriages of justice in cases
of fake encounters and the Ishrat
Jahan killing.)
It was then that Rakesh Sinha
started bellowing self-righteously about the journal Communalism Combat
that has taken continuously anti-national stands on the execution of Kasab, on
the issue of fair trials for people accused of terrorism and so on. How dare
you defend such anti-national people, he roared threateningly while the anchor
Sumit Awasthi smirked triumphantly. (Remember this is the news channel that
sacked an Editor for raising
his voice against its blatant pro-Modi bias in the Delhi election
coverage).**
Priyanka’s calm reply was that
the freedom to express political views against the government or which run
contrary to dominant wisdom – and Communalism Combat has not spared
the Congress or the UPA – is a constitutional right, which perhaps the current
dispensation would like to do away with.
But I must say it was a relief
to hear the official spokespersons of Hindu right-wing formations clearly state
what the problem is with Teesta and Javed – not that they are petty embezzlers,
but that they are ‘anti-national’ in the eyes of the Hindu Right. That is, they
have consistently stood up for secular values and democratic rights, doggedly
followed up on the cases against killers in the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, successfully
getting some of them transferred out of the highly compromised state judiciary,
and generally been a pain in the neck for the Hindu Right and for
Modi’s Gujarat pogrom apologist regime.
Thank you, Rakesh Sinha and
Sambit Patra, for the virulence boiling in your system, which cannot stay under
control even for strategic reasons!
1. Here is a petition we
can sign to express solidarity with these indomitable activists:
2. Statement from NAPM:
NAPM is deeply disturbed with
news from the Gujarat High Court refusing the anticipatory bail applications of
rights activists Teesta Setalvad, Javed Anand and 3 others from Gulberg
Society. We strongly feel that the High Court could have meticulously examined
the extensive submissions put forth by Teesta, before rejecting the bail
application, seeking dropping of charges. We also express our discontent with
the sweeping observations made in the Order against social justice groups.
Although there is temporary
respite with the intervention of the Hon’ble Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
today, it is a matter of extreme anxiety that ‘armed’ with the High Court’s
order, the Gujarat police is keen to immediately arrest Teesta and others for
“custodial interrogation”. We hope the Supreme Court will appreciate the
overall circumstances of the case, merits of the High Court’s order and observe
as to whether at all there is any need for “custodial interrogation” of the
bail applicants, at this stage of the legal process.
It has been widely acknowledged
that the Teesta, Javed and activists with the Citizens for Justice and Peace
(CJP) and the Sabrang Trust withstood the might of the Gujarat State for more
than 12 years and fearlessly stood with the victims and survivors of the
gruesome riots, since 2002. The constant political vendetta by the ruling
party, at the behest of communal outfits in the state is no hidden secret.
NAPM is also worried at the
increasing scenario of the present Govt. targeting rights activists, by making
unsubstantiated allegations of financial irregularities and demand a halt to
this approach. We call upon all peace-loving citizens, people’s organizations
and political parties to voice their protest and seek fairness and justice to
the activists fighting relentlessly for the cause of Gujarat riot victims. We
also demand full justice and rehabilitation to the riot-survivors who are
having for wait endlessly for years from a very ‘concerned State’, which does
not see the need of vigilante groups.
Medha Patkar – Narmada
Bachao Andolan and the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM); Prafulla
Samantara – Lok Shakti Abhiyan & Lingraj Azad – Niyamgiri Suraksha
Samiti, NAPM, Odisha; Dr. Sunilam, Aradhna Bhargava – Kisan Sangharsh
Samiti & Meera – Narmada Bachao Andolan, NAPM, MP; Suniti SR, Suhas
Kolhekar, Prasad Bagwe – NAPM, Maharashtra; Gabriel Dietrich, Geetha
Ramakrishnan – Unorganised Sector Workers Federation, NAPM, TN; C R
Neelkandan – NAPM Kerala; P Chennaiah & Ramakrishnan Raju – NAPM Andhra
Pradesh, Arundhati Dhuru, Richa Singh – NAPM, UP; Sister Celia –
Domestic Workers Union & Rukmini V P, Garment Labour Union, NAPM,
Karnataka; Vimal Bhai – Matu Jan sangathan & Jabar Singh, NAPM,
Uttarakhand; Anand Mazgaonkar, Krishnakant – Paryavaran Suraksh Samiti,
NAPM Gujarat;Kamayani Swami, Ashish Ranjan – Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan &
Mahendra Yadav – Kosi Navnirman Manch, NAPM Bihar;Faisal Khan, Khudai
Khidmatgar, NAPM Haryana; Kailash Meena, NAPM Rajasthan; Amitava Mitra &
Sujato Bhadra, NAPM West Bengal; B S Rawat – Jan Sangharsh Vahini &
Rajendra Ravi, Madhuresh Kumar and Kanika Sharma – NAPM, Delhi
For details contact :
Madhuresh Kumar 9818905316 | email : napmindia@gmail.com
3. Statement from
People’s Alliance for Secularism and Democracy (PADS):
People’s Alliance for Democracy
and Secularism (PADS) expresses alarm at the Gujarat Police move to arrest the
two activists, Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand in Mumbai. The arrest of Teesta
Setalvad, who was denied bail by the Gujarat High court, has been stayed for 24
hours at the intervention of the Supreme Court.
Teesta Setalvad has been relentlessly
championing the rights of the victims of the Gujarat pogroms of 2002. Her
efforts resulted in the transfer of some of the riot related cases out of
Gujarat and conviction of some bigwigs from the Gujarat government. The
Government of Gujarat led by Anandiben Patel, the successor of the incumbent
Prime Minister, is vindictive and has been after Teesta Setalvad and Javed
Anand for their bold stand in defence of the riot victims. Its aim seems to be
to discourage anyone from taking legal recourse against misdeeds of the Gujarat
government during and after the 2002 pogrom. A case of embezzlement of funds
collected by their NGOs has been filed against Teesta, Javed and three others.
Defendants have submitted documentary evidence in court against prosecution
allegations. It must be noted that while the Gujarat government appears hell
bent on targeting Teesta and her associates for standing up for riot victims,
it has been reinstating the police officials who are facing serious criminal
charges in fake encounter cases.
The PADS demands that the
Gujarat government stop harassing Ms. Teesta Setalvad and Mr Javed Anand –
whose anticipatory bail applications have been rejected by the Gujarat High
Court today.
4. Kafila had published in
January 2015 a statement against the continued harassment of Teesta and
Javed
—————————————————————————————————————————————————–
** IBN7 has also done a
completely dishonest and fake “expose” of “love jihad” – the lack of
ethics this “news” channel reveals is deeply disturbing.
No prizes for guessing who owns
IBN7 – it is jointly owned by TV18 Broadcast Limited (Network18) and
Turner International India (Time Warner Inc) – and TV 18 is owned
by….Reliance Industries :)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.