Binayak Sen gives thumbs down to Jaitapur plant

Binayak Sen, civil rights activist convicted for pro-Maoist activity, on Monday said any land acquisition that hands over public property to private interest was not legitimate as it was against the public equity. HT reports.

Binayak Sen, civil rights activist convicted for pro-Maoist activity, on Monday said any land acquisition that hands over public property to private interest was not legitimate as it was against the public equity.

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However, he, said the Jaitapur issue was different from other land acquisition issues as the protest was related to concern over setting up a nuclear power plant. “After Fukushima, anyone who advocates setting up nuclear plants should get his mental health examined,” Sen said.

Sen, speaking at a “Meet the Press” event at the Press Club here, said the notion of public purpose was being jettisoned by handing over common public property to private entities. “Government seems to be acting like guarantor to a process of expropriation of access to common property resources and handing over those properties to private parties.”

He said a large part of the population in India was “chronically malnourished” as over 50% of ST and over 60% of SC had a body mass index than 18.5%.

Sen said that People’s Union of Civil Liberties held a meeting of human rights activists last month and passed a resolution against the sedition law in the country. “It is not befitting free people in free polity. We are going to campaign for repeal of the law. We plan to get one million signatures and present it to the Parliament.”

He said sedition charges were being misused against those who protest against government. He said though he was never physically tortured, there were others who were.