New Delhi: Mere ‘allegation’ of Maoist links was the base to arrest five activists which indicate a “constitutional breakdown” and makes it “very important for us to come out” said a group rights activist, holding a press conference in the capital of Delhi today.

The police from Pune arrested Varavara Rao after multi-city raids on Tuesday. Apart from him lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj and prominent activists like Arun Fereira, Vernon Gonsalves, and Gautam Navlakha. They have all been placed under house arrest after a Supreme Court order directed in this regard yesterday. The arrests have given rise to widespread condemnation and many described it as “absolutely chilling”.

“Those raising their voices are being suppressed. Fear is being instilled in everybody,” said activist Aruna Roy. The 72-year-old activist runs an organization to empower workers and peasants. She further said that “Maybe this is happening because elections are next year — they want to camouflage the critique against their government by suppressing these voices”.

Author Arundhati Roy too lambasted the government that covered issues like demonetization, Rafale deal and the brutal murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh. She said, “From now to elections, it will be a circus of arrests, lynchings, riots… Divide and rule is an old method. Now it is diverting and rule”.

The signs of growing unpopularity of the government conveys that “we are living in dangerous times,” said Ms. Roy. The famous author, who on Tuesday had called the arrests a “virtual declaration of Emergency”, today asserted that it was “more serious” than that.

“At that time, rights of people were violated. But currently, whoever does not agree with the Hindutva ideology, the majoritarian government, is being criminalized”.

Dalit leader and Independent lawmaker from Gujarat Jignesh Mevani, who was involved along with the activists at New Delhi’s Press Club, said: “The state has launched an attack against the activist community”.

Talking in the same terms as that of historian Ramachandra Guha, who said that the recent arrests are aimed at robbing away underprivileged Dalits and tribals of a voice, Mr. Mevani said that the government’s “aim is to discredit the Dalit movement”.

The allegations leveled against Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao – of him being involved in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “is merely a ploy to gain sympathy ahead of 2019 elections”, he added.

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