'Daughter not well, can't observe roza', claims mother of activist arrested during 2020 Delhi riots
New Delhi (PTI): It is not possible for her to observe 'roza' as she is not keeping well in jail, said activist Gulfisha Fatima's mother who met for 'iftaar' families of others arrested under a stringent anti-terror law during the 2020 protests against the CAA.
Communal clashes broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, after violence between supporters of the citizenship law and those opposed to it spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
Speaking at the gathering, Fatima's mother claimed that her daughter has spent three years behind bars. She got bail around two months ago but is "yet to be released".
"It has been three years since my daughter was arrested and around two months since she got bail. I have no idea what is taking so long to release my daughter from jail.
"I've been running to courts over and over again. I can only hope she walks free as soon as possible. It is the government that insists us to educate our children. Is this the result of educating my child?" she asked.
Some activists were arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a case of an alleged larger conspiracy in connection with the riots.
Fatima's mother said her daughter is "not in a good condition" and, as a result, she cannot observe roza this year.
"It is not possible for my daughter to fast for roza because her health is already in a bad condition in jail. Hope she is released soon," she said.
Fatima had sought bail from Delhi High Court in the case, asserting no role was ascribed to her for encouraging the violence.
Saima Khan, daughter of Mohammad Saleem Khan who was charged under the same act, said, "My father never talked about the difficulties he faced in prison."
"My father's bail plea order has been reserved by the high court for now. Life for both of us has been tough ever since he got arrested. My father never shared about the difficulties he faced inside the jail," Saima said.
Khan was named as an accused in 2021 and three FIRs were lodged against him by the Delhi Police in connection with the riots. In one of the cases, he has been charged under the UAPA and continues to be in jail while he has secured bail in two other cases.
Activist Athar Khan's mother Noor Jahan said, "My son was studying BBA when he was arrested. Three cases were registered against my son, including one under UAPA.
"He got bail in other two cases around one-and-a-half years ago but the UAPA case is still pending. His case is going on in the high court now."
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Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
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The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
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"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
