CHENNAI: Calling it an attempt to silence dissenters, DMK MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian on Saturday condemned the Delhi Lieutenant Governor’s sanction to prosecute author-activist Arundhati Roy and academic Sheikh Showkat Hussain under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for an alleged provocative speech in 2010.
In an Instagram post, the second-time Chennai South MP argued that "reviving a 14-year-old case is not only a blatant attempt to stifle dissent but also a disturbing trend of targeting intellectuals and academics who challenge the status quo."
Stating that it was important to "protect the voices that dare to speak truth to power and advocate for justice," Thamizhachi expressed her solidarity with Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain.
Several political leaders and members of the civil society have expressed disapproval of Delhi L-G VK Saxena's prosecution sanction on Friday against former Central University of Kashmir professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain and Arundhati Roy, a Booker Prize-winning author.
They were both named in an FIR registered on October 28, 2010.
The two had allegedly made provocative speeches at a conference organised under the banner of ‘Azadi - The Only Way’ on October 21, 2010, in New Delhi.
“The issues discussed and spoken about at the conference propagated the separation of Kashmir from India,” an official said on Friday.
Last October, the L-G had granted sanction to prosecute them under section 196 of CrPC for commission of offences punishable under different sections of the Indian Penal Code: 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).
Others who delivered speeches at the conference included late Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, SAR Geelani (anchor of the conference and prime accused in the Parliament attack case), and Telugu poet Varavara Rao.
(With PTI inputs)