A war of words broke out between the government and the Opposition after Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena gave the nod to prosecute Booker prize-winning author Arundhati Roy for a speech about Kashmir she gave 14 years ago.
Roy along with Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a former professor in Kashmir, will be prosecuted under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly making provocative speeches at an event in Delhi in 2010.
OPPOSITION’S REACTION
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemned the action against Roy and said the move defies logic.
Condemnable
The Delhi LG has granted permission to prosecute Arundhati Roy under the draconian UAPA for a speech reportedly made 14 years ago – in 2010. Defies logic except the fascist kind.
Timing is suspect since courts are on vacation, as are lawyers.
Shameful and Condemnable!— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) June 14, 2024
“Condemnable! The Delhi LG has granted permission to prosecute Arundhati Roy under the draconian UAPA for a speech reportedly made 14 years ago – in 2010. Defies logic except the fascist kind. Timing is suspect since courts are on vacation, as are lawyers. Shameful and Condemnable!” the part said in a post on X.
Congress leader Hariprasad B K also condemned the LG’s sanction to prosecute Roy, who is a “brilliant mind, an internationally renowned writer, and a leading intellectual.”
I strongly condemn the LG’s sanction to prosecute Arundhati Roy who is a brilliant mind, an internationally renowned writer, and a leading intellectual.
Fascism thrives on crushing dissent, particularly from intellectuals, artists, writers, poets & activists. @BJP4India…
— Hariprasad.B.K. (@HariprasadBK2) June 15, 2024
“Fascism thrives on crushing dissent, particularly from intellectuals, artists, writers, poets & activists. BJP manufacture crises daily to distract and overwhelm dissenters enabling them to divert attention from their failures. This assault on free expression & democratic values is unacceptable,” he said in a post on X.
Trinamool MP-elect Mahua Moitra also came out in Roy’s support and said, “If by prosecuting Arundhati Roy under UAPA BJP trying to prove they’re back, well they’re not. And they’ll never be back the same way they were. This kind of fascism is exactly what Indians have voted against.”
BJP’S ALLEGATION
Reacting to the development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed Congress and questioned the grand old party for being empathetic towards ‘separatist and terrorist organisations’.