Pune activist’s arrest: Arundhati Roy slams govt

A massive rally organised in New Delhi for the release of the pro-Dalit activists detained in Pune in June under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) got a big boost from Booker winner Arundhati Roy asserting that such suppression of those raising voice will go on until the Modi government is ousted from power.

She pointed out that these activists were put behind the bars since they were mobilising the Dalits against the RSS leaders who instigated violence against them for organising a rally at BhimaKoregao to celebrate their victory over the Peshwas.

Arundhati warned that the ruling BJP is trying to create a communal divide, taking advantage of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) excluding over 40 lakh as if they were infiltrators and foreigners.

“The next few days will be very dangerous. What they have started from Assam will be brought to Bengal and Delhi. They will decide who is a real Indian; the rest won’t get rice or a vote or Aadhaar,” she warned.

She went on to assert that "those who kill thousands in the country now sit in Parliament and so our task is not just to defeat them but to send them to jail."

Several anti-establishment organisations came together to hold the rally on Friday and called for unity to oust the BJP while demanding the release of political prisoners in custody in Pune who have been slapped with charge of instigating violence.