Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday criticised the Maharashtra government for the arrests of five human rights activists and lawyers last week, reported PTI. “They are being intimidated by the government because they are perceived as strong opponents of the right-wing,” he said during a press conference in Nagpur. Chidamabaram added that he disagreed with the nomenclature of “urban Naxalism”.
On Tuesday, teams of Pune police raided the houses of several activists in Mumbai, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Delhi, Faridabad. Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao were arrested for their alleged links with Maoists. A day later, the Supreme Court placed them under house arrest until September 6.
Applauding the court’s decision, Chidambaram said the police put forth no evidence since the activists were arrested. “These are strong-arm tactics to muzzle freedom of expression and kill any ideological opposition,” the Hindustan Times quoted him as saying. “The arrests were made to instil fear in those speaking against the Bharatiya Janata Party government.”
The raids and arrests were an attempt to divert attention from other pressing issues, alleged the former finance minister. “We condemn this and we are happy that the court has intervened and given them some form of liberty,” he said.
On a question that three of the arrested activists faced similar charges under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, Chidambaram said action then was taken by the state police, reported The Times of India. “I am not defending that action and the arrest now,” he said. “Two wrongs cannot make a right.”
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