The BJP government in the Center must see reason and act to free 22-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi, who has been arrested by Delhi police in the toolkit case, said historian and author Ramachandra Guha in a protest held in Bengaluru by various groups. .
“What is the message we want to send to the world, that we do not want a girl to express her opinions? What is the future we want for our country, one of conformity, obedience, cult of personality? It’s really scary. It is good that there are protests. This government should be right and should release not only her but all the prisoners immediately, ”Guha said at the protest of a group of around 100 people, mostly students.
Guha, who has been the most prominent of the protesters in Bengaluru on issues such as the Citizenship Amendment Act, briefly participated in the protest on Monday. “Students defending farmers, protecting the environment, democracy and human rights are the target. It is a kind of Chinese model. This type of repression is much worse than any other view since the emergency, ”he said.
“If you feel that she has said something, then you can call her and talk to her, but arresting her, keeping her in custody and charging her in cases of sedition is worse than the colonial regime,” he said.
Students from the All India Students Association and Bengaluru universities held banners calling the arrest of the 22-year-old activist a “conspiracy against democracy.”
The United Federation of Farmer-Workers-Dalits Pro-Peoples Organizations of Karnataka in a statement condemned the arrest and said that young people who are in the environmental movement tend to support farmers’ protests because both involve the future of our country.
“One has to question how a girl living in Karnataka could be allowed to be arrested by the Delhi police,” said Vinay Sreenivas, an advocate for the federation.
Bengaluru police, however, said that a person should be presented to a local magistrate at the place of arrest only if the person cannot be presented to the court that issued an arrest warrant within 24 hours of arrest. The police claimed that the Delhi police told the jurisdictional police after Disha Ravi was arrested and just before she was flown to Delhi.
“There are different types of cases. There is nothing called a protocol. We also go and arrest so many people from outside of our state. The question is not that. The case was brought up in the national capital and the Delhi police acted based on certain evidence, ”said Interior Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
“This is a warning to the youth in the country that there is a situation worse than the emergency,” said KPCC chief DK Shivakumar.
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.