Centre resorting to extreme steps to quell dissent: Opposition
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Last Updated: Feb 15, 2021, 11:57 PM IST
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Expressing shock over Ravi’s arrest “on flimsy charges” and urging the BJP government to desist from such “punitive action” and instead listen to the voices of dissent from youngsters, DMK chief MK Stalin said: “Silencing critics of the government through authoritarian means is not the rule of the law.”
Rahul Gandhi (File Pic)
NEW DELHI: Senior opposition leaders deplored the arrest of 22-yearold climate activist Disha Ravi and the non-bailable arrest warrant against lawyer Nikita Jacob in connection with the ‘toolkit case’ linked to the farmers’ agitation. Opposition parties accused the Modi government of resorting to extreme measures to quell dissent and silence voices of protest.
ISSUE DATE: February 22, 2021
UPDATED: February 15, 2021 14:11 IST
Rallying cry: BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on stage at the Ghazipur border on January 30
If the events of this year’s Republic Day, when lumpen youth hijacked what had hitherto been a determined yet peaceful farmers’ protest and led a siege of the iconic Red Fort, threatened to derail the movement, Rakesh Tikait’s tears on Beating Retreat Day (January 28), when police tried to force-clear protesters from Ghazipur, put it right back on track. His emotional outburst not only re-energised the movement, but it also led to something more momentous, bringing the Jats of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana together in solidarity with the Punjab farmer, undermining the central government’s insinuations that the movement was confined to Punjab, that it was being used by Khalistani forces to further their own radical agenda and was the work of ‘andolanjeevis’, professional protesters who live off agitations.
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In March 2010, as Mayawati thundered before lakhs of enthusiastic supporters at a political rally in Lucknow’s Ramabai maidan, with the crowd chanting slogans of ‘Jai Bheem’ in response, a swarm of bees came out from nowhere and descended on her. The crowd was stunned seeing the bees hovering over Mayawati, but the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party stood her ground and declared that the bees were a blessing from heaven.
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The Akali Dal was part of the ruling NDA till it quit the alliance in September 2020 to protest the Centre’s contested agriculture legislations PTI Photo/Atul Yadav Outlook Web Bureau 2021-02-09T22:08:35+05:30 Centre Committing Atrocities Against Farmers; Linking Them With Khalistanis: Harsimrat Kaur Badal outlookindia.com 2021-02-09T22:24:14+05:30
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In a recent statement, the Akali Dal accused the BJP-led centre of committing atrocities against farmers who are protesting the Centre’s three new agriculture laws and condemned it for “linking” them to terrorists and Khalistanis.