Govt indulging in divert & rule, says Arundhati
New Delhi, August 30
Expressing outrage over recent arrests of several rights activists by the Maharashtra Police, author Arundhati Roy said diminishing popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government has forced it to adopt the policy of muzzling “voices of reason” and indulge in “divert and rule” policy.
She alleged that the BJP and the government would “try to derail everything” with “some surprise attack” in the run-up to the 2019 elections. She was speaking at a press conference here along with leading intellectuals and civil society members to demand action against the police for launching a “vicious and malafide attack” against human rights activists.
A joint statement signed by Roy, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, activists Aruna Roy and others said the arrests “highlighted the violation of all due procedures and were a mockery of the legal system”.
Meanwhile, senior leaders of the Left parties and associations affiliated to them staged demonstration against the arrest of five civil liberties activists, including Jammu and Kashmir MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami. They demanded their immediate release and withdrawal of case against them. — TNS
