Is it a crime to fight for human rights?
Two incidents occurred on Thursday have somewhat provided an indication about which way the country is headed. An eight year old boy has been lynched by a mob. This is another addition to the mass hate crime that is engulfing the nation. No one has been arrested yet in connection with this inhuman and gruesome act. Media and governments have turned a blind eye towards this as usual. Another incident is that of a sponsored raid on Amnesty India which is known for its fights on human rights. All the bank accounts of the international NGO have been sealed and confiscated rendering the organization paralysed. The government which has to take punitive action against the criminals has been nourishing them under the guise of them being protectors of culture, and the ones that are creating trouble are being arrested and put into jails. After having illegally detained a few human rights activists under the guise of ‘naxals’, this is the next state-sponsored attack on the human rights efforts in the country. Another NGO GreenPeace accounts were also frozen sometime early during the term of this government.
One aspect was very clear for the joint ‘Corporate-RSS’ government led by Modi after last Lok Sabha elections. There is no opposition party that exists which would oppose the implementation of agenda of Sangh Parivar and the corporates. The only opposing forces that can see through their design is human rights organisations. Mega industrialists fear the voice raised by human rights NGOs when large swathes of lands, encroached forests are being leased out to them to set up industries by the government. Many organisations were already exposing big companies and their agendas to the people. Green Peace is in the forefront of such efforts. Hence soon as the government assumed power, it attacked GreenPeace and put it under the surveillance radar starting from the origin of their funds and disrupting works. The bank accounts of this NGO were frozen last month.
At the same time, Modi government is not too comfortable with the human rights NGOs which speak against the RSS ideologies which are deemed irrational, unscientific, anti-human and against the spirit of the constitution. The opposition of such NGOs unsettles the government and hence such organisations have been rattled by the government time and again to push them into silence through various means of torture.
On one hand as the mob violence increased, efforts to silence the voices that spoke against this increase in new kind of mob hysteria had also gone up. Fake Gau Rakshaks have been ruling the roost on the streets of the country yet no legal system would act against them. Even the cops work in favour of such evil forces. The human rights activists who were out to expose the inability of the government to safeguard the interests of innocent people are seeming like anti-national elements to them. Which is why fake cases are being registered against them under the leadership of government. Further, the government is acting against those websites and news channels that publish/air reports that expose the claims of the government.
Amnesty International has been working for the protection of human rights and dignity within all strata in the country. They are the conscience keepers of the society who ensure the politicians and governments don’t cross a line in their priorities ignoring the people. Not only that; such organisations practice total transparency in their works. They have shared all their documents and records on their website with access open for all to see. Yet, with all this, what’s the reason for the government to launch an attack on Amnesty? Are they telling the people of India that one should never question the attempts to usurp human rights in this country? Is the government party to this entire silencing operation?
Government should actually conduct raids on Sanatan Sanstha, Abhinava Bharat and other organisations which have been named in various attacks, murders and bomb blast cases. Cases have been registered against Sanatan Sanstha activists. Yet, why are those organisations not being raided and their fund sources are not being questioned? RSS is collecting huge funds from NRIs. Why no investigation agencies have raided the Nagpur office? One need not even explain the agenda of this government. Hindutva in the garb of culture will have goondas ruling us in the future. Just as the government attempts to silence the voices, dissidence will explode from unexpected corners. When all democratic channels are closed, it may even result in counter violence. Anarchy may be the order of the day then. The government may even want this to happen and is pushing the situation towards that point. The citizens of this country are watching all this, rather helplessly.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Speaker rules out discussion on Guv''s conduct amid K''taka Assembly standoff
Bengaluru (PTI): In an effort to end the logjam over the Governor's address that has stalled proceedings for the past week, Karnataka Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Wednesday ruled that legislators should not discuss Thaawarchand Gehlot or his conduct in the house, saying such debates send the wrong message to the public.
The House has witnessed repeated disruptions and adjournments since the session began on January 22 over the issue of the governor's conduct.
During his address to the joint sitting of the Karnataka legislature on January 22, Gehlot read out only three sentences from the 122-paragraph speech prepared by the state government.
The speech included criticism of the Centre for replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajivika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), portions of which the governor declined to read.
Concluding his address in about two minutes, the governor left the house, triggering a commotion as Congress legislators attempted to gherao him and raised slogans.
While the opposition BJP accused the ruling Congress and its ministers of "insulting" the governor and demanded action, the treasury benches countered by claiming the governor had "insulted the National Anthem by leaving before it was played."
The house again witnessed heated arguments on the issue earlier in the day, leading to adjournment.
During the interruption, Khader held a meeting with ministers and opposition members to resolve the impasse.
When proceedings resumed, the speaker delivered his ruling.
Referring to the events of January 22 and the subsequent debate, Khader said the conduct and discussions had conveyed the wrong message to the public.
"Our conduct as members of this House and the opinions expressed must be in good taste and in accordance with constitutional provisions. They must uphold the dignity of the House and its members. We must introspect in this direction," he said.
He stressed the need for caution to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future.
"Let us end this matter here, continue the discussion on the motion of thanks to the governor, and refrain from discussing the governor or his conduct in this house," the speaker said.
Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said the house should express regret over what he termed an "insult" to the governor.
Responding, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the situation would not have arisen had the governor read out the entire address.
"Asking the house to express regret is not appropriate. Why did the governor leave even before the National Anthem was played," Siddaramaiah asked.
BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar reminded Siddaramaiah that as Leader of the Opposition in 2011, he had asked then Governor Hansraj Bhardwaj to curtail his address.
Bhardwaj had subsequently placed the address on the table of the house, requesting members to treat it as read.
Siddaramaiah said the situation in January 2011 was different from the present one.
The debate grew intense, leading to another adjournment of the house.
