Mangalore, Sep 14: When India became free from British rule, our leaders ensured that the oppressive laws were done away with. However, oppressive laws such as the Police Act, 1861, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and others still continue to exist, said PUCL national president Prof Prabhakar Sinha.
Speaking at a programme at Jathanna Hall, Balmatta here on Saturday where national office-bearers of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) spoke on'Present situation of human rights in India and the fate of democracy', he said that even after independence, innocent people were detained by the police using oppressive laws such as Maintenance of Indian Secrets Act (MISA) and Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). The oppressive laws passed by the government of free India were far worse than those passed by British India, he said.
Talking of the existing machinery in the country, he said that today, we had an elected government of the people and by the people, but not for the people. In India, the state was directed to minimise the disparity among the people, but the government is following policies which maximise the inequalities of the people. The government runs not for the benefit of the people, but for a handful of capitalists, and there can be no democracy where the country is run only by few rich people, he said.
Speaking of the social and fundamental rights of a citizen, he said that it was not the responsibility of the state to ensure right to life, but also to make sure one had a certain standard of living.
'Modi will crush all dissent'
Addressing the gathering, human rights activist and PUCL secretary Kavita Srivastava said that a large section of national electronic media had been bought by corporates, and it was these corporate companies that were trying to bring Gujarat CM Narendra Modi to power by projecting him as a larger-than-life figure.
In the backdrop of Modi anointed as the prime ministerial candidate by the BJP, she said that the noisy debates on Modi telecast on television were fabricated.
“The phenomenal growth in the state of Gujarat continues to be a story projected by the media. We know how he silences the minorities and makes to make India a religious majoritarian state. There have been so many instances of how opposing individuals or institutions were crushed,” she said, adding that all dissent against Modi would be similarly crushed if he came to power.
“What you saw in Mangalore was just a trailer; what will come will be much worse,” she said, referring to the communal tension in the district in the past few years.
Advocate and PUCL general secretary Dr V Suresh said that in India today,'Netas' (politicians) brazenly looted the country, and if people stood up against them, they were pegged as traitors. When the'Janata' speaks out, they become traitors. This is the irony of India, he said.
PUCL vice-president Ravi Kiran Jain also shared his views on the occasion. PUCL leader P B D'Sa was present.
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