The serial arrests of human rights activists and public intellectuals across the country has invited condemnation from all sections of the media, as well as some political parties.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary, Sitaram Yechury, tweeted a cartoon, asking the question “Does anyone still have any doubt about the real face of the Modi govt?”
Does anyone still have any doubt about the real face of the Modi govt? #BhimaKoregaon #Arrests pic.twitter.com/i9FQoZjDSH
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) August 28, 2018
Several human rights activists, lawyers and poets were detained and arrested across the country by Pune Police on Tuesday. Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Varavar Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Kranti Teluka and Naseem are among those who have been arrested.
The arrests are being seen as a targeted attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to suppress dissenting voices.
In a joint statement, civil society activists and journalists have said, “Both the arrests and the physical attacks on justice loving people must be seen in a series of attempts to stifle dissent and deny social justice.”