NEW DELHI, Nov 10:
Rights activist and member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) Aruna Roy today shot off a letter to NAC chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressing concern over what she called the way establishment was harassing those fighting against illegal acquisition of their fertile land and against violation of their civil liberties.
It seems, there is a “growing intolerance of anyone who is seen as coming in the way of the plans of commercial interest,” Ms Roy said in the letter in which she protested against the arrest of Ms Medha Patkar and other rights activists who were peacefully holding demonstrations against illegal acquisition of fertile land.
Ms Roy urged Ms Gandhi to treat this matter with “the highest degree of concern.” ensures that all questions around land acquisition were sensitively and comprehensively examined and acted on.
“While Parliament examines the contentious Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparent Land Acquisition Bill, 2012, such methods of suppressing dissent are bound to completely polarise all debates around the issue. Eventually, using the law in this unjustifiable manner against those who are raising a voice of marginalised people will undermine democracy itself,” said Ms Roy.
She said it was vitally important that spaces of dissent were preserved in a democracy and people’s movements, themselves committed to democratic principles were given the same legitimacy that the political class sought for itself. (UNI)
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