A sctn of the media has reported that I was detained yesterday while participating in a protest. This is incorrect, could be inadvertent. I was merely speaking to the media without flouting any of the Delhi Police restrictions. Was well away from the barricades and did not even speak to any police officer. I was alone and strictly within the prohibitory numbers. I am still at a loss as to why the police and CRPF pounced on me. All of this is clearly visible on video..as almost all the media were present at the time.
Once the goons are overthrown, a huge hall must be built.
The Hall of Shame.
Document every crime, display it there.
The future generations must know how democracy was snatched back from the tyrants.
Now do you believe the whole Godhra episode was staged? That Sohrabuddin encounter was fake? That Judge Loya was murdered?
Or you still need more proof?
The chilling reality of BJP’s rule.
Remember this man? Ram Bhakt Gopal.
He was one of the earliest and most disturbing experiments of what unfolded in Delhi under BJP’s rule in collabration with system.
He openly carried a gun and fired at peaceful anti-CAA protesters while Delhi Police watched from a distance.
One protester was shot.
And this Criminal who pulled the trigger was never convicted in that shooting case.
Let that sink in.
A peaceful protester was shot, the police watched, and the shooter escaped conviction for the shooting.
This is the kind of impunity that should terrify every citizen.
In a letter to Sardar Patel on May 14, 1948, Dr Rajendra Prasad stated that members of the RSS could disguise themselves as Muslims to attack Hindus and incite riots.
Damm...he was absolutely right.
Democracy has been battered on the streets of Delhi over the past two days. Thousands of protesters were attacked and detained for demanding accountability from the Election Commission.
Standing in defense of democracy, figures like @cpimspeak Rajya Sabha leader @JohnBrittas, @SFI_CEC President @Adarshmsaji , @dyficec Central Executive Committee Member, @jaickcthomas, @Cockroachisback leaders @abhijeet_dipke, @SauravDassss, and @AshutoshRanka, YouTuber and activist @dhruv_rathee bore the brunt of the Modi government's heavy-handed repression, joining thousands of others who took to the streets.
Peaceful protesters were met with batons, humiliation and mass detention. The Modi government must answer for this assault on democratic rights. You may detain thousands, but you cannot imprison the conscience of a nation
This has to be amongst the most sinister visuals of what is unfolding in Delhi. The police is informed by reporters about unidentified persons in a car with sticks/lathis and yet the car is allowed to drive away!
Think about it for a second.
A planned peaceful protest against election roll fraud is prohibited because the police cites the fear of violence and invokes a section of the law prohibiting gatherings of more than four people in central New Delhi.
The police arrest individuals for speaking to reporters or looking like they are protestors even though they are not raising slogans, carrying placards or weapons of any kind.
But when unidentified persons with a horde of weapons in their motor car are spotted hanging around in this prohibited zone, the police makes no attempt to establish who they are let alone detain them. Instead they are allowed, indeed, encouraged to escape!
I do believe we are now at the public-private partnershipstage of fascism. With lumpens being given free reign to attack those standing up for democracy.
Manhandled, dragged, assaulted n misbehaved inside a police vehicle and dumped by the roadside - for the crime of speaking to the media.
This is not merely an assault on an MP. It is an assault on democratic freedoms and the rule of law. More chillingly, it happened within hours of the Supreme Court issuing directions to safeguard peaceful protest and constitutional rights.
I have written to the Hon’ble President of India @rashtrapatibhvn , the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha @VPIndia and the Chief Justice of India seeking urgent intervention and fixing accountability for the police personnel, and action on the question of parliamentary privilege.
The Government cannot intimidate democracy into silence. It cannot substitute the force of the baton for the force of debate. And it shouldn’t expect the people to surrender their constitutional freedoms merely because those in power find dissent inconvenient. The strength of a democracy lies not in its capacity to suppress dissent, but in its ability to address it.
For many of us journalists, John Brittas has become over the years one of the first people we call when we face harassment from the state. He has stood up for journalists and others facing oppression, and has been a strong voice of the Opposition.
Today, he was dragged into a police bus while protesting, assaulted, and dumped on the roadside.
Solidarity with you @JohnBrittas. If this is how the police treat an elected MP, imagine what an ordinary citizen faces.