Release all Bhima Koregaon accused, Oppn parties write to Prez

New Delhi: Leaders of 10 Opposition parties on Tuesday wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind expressing outrage at the death of activist and undertrial prisoner Stan Swamy, calling for the immediate release of all people accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case and other political prisoners

New Delhi: Leaders of 10 Opposition parties on Tuesday wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind expressing outrage at the death of activist and undertrial prisoner Stan Swamy, calling for the immediate release of all people accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case and other political prisoners.

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The letter came a day after the 84-year-old Jesuit priest died of a cardiac arrest at a time the Bombay high court was hearing his medical bail plea.

Swamy was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last October for allegedly being a part of banned Maoist organisations and fomenting violence on January 1, 2018 at Maharashtra’s Bhima Koregaon village.

The leaders said they were writing to the President in “deep anguish” and called the cases against Swamy, including those under anti-terror laws, false.

“We are urging your immediate intervention as the President of India to direct your government to act against those responsible for foisting false cases on him, his continued detention in jail and inhuman treatment. They must be held accountable,” the joint letter said.

“It is now incumbent that all those jailed in the Bhima Koregaon case and other detenues under politically motivated cases, misusing draconian laws like UAPA [Unlawful Activities Prevention Act], sedition etc, be released forthwith,” the leaders added.

The letter was signed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Deve Gowda and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress), Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) have also signed the letter. Among the other signatories are D Raja (Communist Party of India), Sitaram Yechury (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and Tejashwi Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal).

The leaders alleged that Swamy was denied treatment for various ailments including Parkinson’s disease.

“Only after a nationwide campaign was conducted that even a sipper to drink liquids was made available to him in jail. The numerous appeals made to shift him out of the overcrowded Taloja jail that had seen a huge rise in Covid cases went unheeded. His appeals for bail and being sent home too were rejected. Thanks to the Bombay high court’s intervention he was admitted to a private hospital when his condition started deteriorating after he was infected with Covid. But it was too late to prevent his death in custody,” the letter added.

Swamy was the oldest of 16 activists and lawyers arrested on charges of conspiring to foment violence at Bhima Koregaon village in Maharashtra on January 1, 2018. The village was rocked by caste clashes during the bicentennial celebration of a British-era war by Dalits.

He was arrested on October 8, 2020 by NIA, which alleged that the priest had Maoist connections and was working for frontal organisations of the banned CPI (Maoist). He was charged under the UAPA and was sent to Taloja jail. In his defence, Swamy said evidence against him was fabricated and that he never conspired to foment violence.

Meanwhile, the BJP reacted to the letter saying that it is another attempt by the opposition to “play the politics.”

BJP national spokesperson Gopal Agarwal said that opposition has always sided with the international organisations which are blatantly “anti-Modi” and this whole ecosystem of hate against PM involves global media as well.

He added that Indian laws are “very strong” and all the institutions of the state are “taking care of constitutional rights of everybody.”

Without naming Swamy, Agarwal added, “But opposition in all its actions and statements only talks about the human rights of those people who at one point in time seem to be involved in anti-national activities.”

He added that the opposition “never talks” about human rights violations of the “nationalist people”. “This (letter) is all a part of the opposition’s clear-cut strategy against Modi government,” he said.