Yesterday, the Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, approved the prosecution of Arundhati Roy under UAPA charges for her provocative speech in 2010. A Raj Bhavan official stated, “Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena has sanctioned the prosecution of Arundhati Roy and former Central University of Kashmir International Law Professor Dr. Sheikh Showkat Hussain under section 45 (1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the case.”
Background…
Sushil Pandit had filed a complaint on 28th October 2010 that led to the registration of the F.I.R against Arundhati Roy and Hussain. The Governor’s office stated, “Roy and Hussain had allegedly made provocative speeches at a conference organised under the banner of ‘Azadi – The Only Way’ on 21.10.2010 at LTG Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi. The issues discussed and spoken about at the conference propagated the ‘separation of Kashmir from India’.”
Besides Roy and Hussain, other speakers at this event included the late Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Varavara Rao etc. Sushil Pandit, had filed the complaint under section 156(3) of the CrPC in a Magistrate court in New Delhi. The court then ordered the registration of the FIR on November 27, 2010.
Geelani and Roy were accused of stating that Kashmir was never part of India but forcibly occupied by the Indian army. The complainant had supplied recordings of these statements.
The Raj Bhavan in October last year had granted sanction to prosecute them under various IPC sections. Some of these charges being under section 153A, 153 B and and 505.
Political Reactions…
A war of words broke out between the opposition and the government since this news emerged. A Congress leader Hariprasad B.K took to X and condemned the LG’s move. He tweeted, “Fascism thrives on crushing dissent, particularly from intellectuals, artists, writers, poets & activists.” Karti P Chidambaram on the other hand supported Roy by calling “UAPA against a writer! Once a fascist government always a fascist government.”
While TMC MP elect, Mahua Moitra tweeted, “If by persecuting Arundhati Roy under UAPA BJP is 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.”
Reacting to this news, BJP National Spokesperson, Shri Shehzad Poonawalla took to twitter and questioned the Congress ecosystem.
Senior Journalist Mr. Pradeep Bhandari welcomed the move of Delhi LG and posted the following on X-
While others posted the following-
Editor In Chief of Times Now, Mr. Rahul Shivshankar took a jibe at those accusing NDA for crushing democracy. He took to X and presented some hard facts on the same.
