Farmers Movement Archive

Day before ending farm protest, BKU Ugrahan demands release of activists on Human Rights Day

BATHINDA: A day before ending its yearlong protest against the now repealed farm laws at the borders of Delhi, farmer organisation BKU Ekta Ugrahan, which was once branded as a Naxalite group, demanded release all writers and academics, arrested on “political considerations”, on international Human Rights Day Friday. Terming such arrests as sheer violations of human rights, BKU Ekta Ugrahan used the last session of the farm protest in raising voice for the activists arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case and Delhi riots cases. The farm outfit demanded that as the central government has repealed the farm laws, it should also make way for release of such people who are lodged in jails for long. The protesters waved photos of arrested Gautam Navlakha, Roma Wilson, Varvara Rao, Surendra Gadling, Soma Sen, Sudha Bhardwaj (who recently got bail) and Stan Swami (who died on July 5). The outfit president, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, said that the central government continued to crush the opposition voices. “Many intellectuals have been put behind bars for raising voices in favour of the rights of the people. The government is scaring people by laws like AFSPA. The massacre in Nagaland has unmasked the face of the government.” Last year too, BKU Ugrahan had observed the day on December 10 amid the farm protests, saying the violations of human rights are on the rise in the country for the last many years. The farm outfit had to face flak from the government as they were branded Naxalites and Maoist sympathisers. Even other protesting farmer groups had distanced themselves from BKU Ugrahan.

The Times of India

2021-12-11

India