RSS, Modi crushing voices of dissent, say activists
New Delhi, Aug 29 : A large number of activists, writers and representatives of Left-affiliated organisations on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for "intimidating and crushing" the voices of dissent.
Converging at Maharastra Sadan here to protest under the banner of "Citizens Protest" against the police raids and "illegal arrests" of human rights activists, the activists demanded that all five be released immediately.
Historian Shamsul Islam said: "This BJP government first branded the dissenting people as anti-national, next terrorists...and now they have coined a nonsense term called 'urban Naxal', only to intimidate and crush the voices of dissent."
The Pune police on Tuesday said it had arrested five human rights activists and alleged that Maoist sympathisers, including Telugu poet Varavara Rao, were directly linked to the Bhima Koregaon riots in Maharashtra on January 1.
Hero Honda Theka Mazdoor Sangathan vice-president Rakhi Sehgal said that despite court order, the Pune police tried to take away trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj on Tuesday from Uttar Pradesh.
"More than 15 police personnel came to arrest a woman... The investigating officer in the court was just reading the sections, instead of proving the allegations on her," Sehgal added.
Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan general secretary Poonam Kaushik said that Milind Eknote and Sambhaji Bhide, who allegedly provoked violence in Bhima Koregaon, wre roaming scot-free.
"Sunil Bharadwaj and four other activists are arrested because they opposed earlier arrests of activists Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson and Mahesh Raut, who were defending the arrests of innocent Dalits," said Kaushik.
National Campaign for People's Right to Information co-convenor Anjali Bharadwaj said "this attempt is to send a clear signal to spread fear that if you raise inconvenient questions to the government, you will be targeted".
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India-bound LPG tanker clears Hormuz
New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.
The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.
Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.
The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.
There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.
India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.
Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.
