 "Disha Ravi arrest: From Rahul Gandhi to Kejriwal, Opposition leaders slam Centre over action against climate activist")
Leaders across several political parties denounced the arrest of 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi by the Delhi Police on Sunday. The police have alleged that Disha shared and contributed written material to a ’toolkit’ about the ongoing farmers’ protest, which was later mentioned by Greta Thunberg in a tweet. She has been remanded to five days’ police custody. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi quoted a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz and said on Twitter, “India won’t be silenced.”
बोल कि लब आज़ाद हैं तेरे
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 15, 2021
बोल कि सच ज़िंदा है अब तक!
वो डरे हैं, देश नहीं!
India won’t be silenced. pic.twitter.com/jOXWdXLUzY
Several other Congress leaders also hit out at the Delhi Police and the Centre over Disha Ravi’s arrest. Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh said, “The arrest and the manner of arrest of green activist Disha Ravi shows clearly the intensifying murder of democracy in India. But the young in India cannot be silenced. More power to them!” In a series of tweets, P Chidambaram said —
A ‘took kit’ to support the farmers’ protest is more dangerous than the intrusion by Chinese troops into Indian territory!
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) February 14, 2021
India is becoming the theatre of the absurd and it is sad that the Delhi Police has become a tool of the oppressors
Terming the arrest an onslaught on freedom of expression, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi said, “Arresting a young woman for retweeting a tweet supporting the farmers is undemocratic. I stand with Disha Ravi against this onslaught on freedom of expression.” A statement by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) read, “A rattled govt is going after anyone reporting on, showing solidarity with the farmers protest or amplifying their message. Shameful that they won’t even spare a 21-year-old environmental activist. But they will not succeed. We will resist.” Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal remarked —
Arrest of 21 yr old Disha Ravi is an unprecedented attack on Democracy. Supporting our farmers is not a crime.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 15, 2021
In response to Kejriwal’s tweet, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said, “You have set a new precedent by brazenly supporting all who instigate violence. Indian government is working for betterment of farmers. Yoga and Tea are our essentials but inciting violence in the name of farmers is a crime and it has nothing to do with age.” Tiwari was making a reference to a point in the original toolkit, which Thunberg later deleted, which called for disrupting the ‘yoga and chai’ image of India. Haryana home minister Anil Vij also sought to justify Disha’s arrest, saying, “People who have the seed of treason in their minds must be destroyed, be it Disha Ravi or anyone else.” Disha Ravi was arrested from Bengaluru for being allegedly involved in sharing the “toolkit” related to the farmer’s protest on social media. The toolkit has been cited by some critics as ‘proof’ of her conspiracy to fuel protests in India. Ravi, a graduate in Bachelor of Business Administration from a private college in Bengaluru, is also one of the founding members of a group named ‘Fridays For Future India’. With inputs from PTI
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