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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Virat Kohli set to play Ranji Trophy after 12 years
New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI): Indian superstar Virat Kohli is set to play his first Ranji Trophy game since 2012 after making himself available for Delhi's tie against Railways scheduled here from January 30.
Kohli could not make it for Delhi's upcoming away clash against Saurashtra, beginning on January 23, due to a neck sprain but he has communicated to DDCA that he is available for the team's last league match of the Ranji Trophy.
"Virat has conveyed to DDCA president (Rohan Jaitley) and team management that he is available for the game against Railways," Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh told PTI.
The BCCI has made playing domestic cricket mandatory for its contracted cricketers unless there is a fitness issue following the series loss in Australia earlier this month.
