Ask Centre to act against those responsible for false cases against Stan Swamy: Opposition leaders urge President
The leaders in a letter to the President also demanded the release of all those jailed in the Bhima Koregaon case and other detenues under politically motivated cases, misusing draconian laws like UAPA, sedition etc.
A day after the death of 84-year-old tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, who was booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Elgar Parishad case, 10 opposition leaders urged President Ram Nath Kovind to direct "your government" to act against those responsible for false cases on him. The opposition party leaders requested the President to direct the Centre to take action against those responsible for his continued detention and inhuman treatment.
The leaders in a letter to the President also demanded the release of all those jailed in the Bhima Koregaon case and other detenues under politically motivated cases, misusing draconian laws like UAPA, sedition etc.
Also read: BJP targets Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren for backing ‘Maoist’ Stan Swamy
"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 letter read.
The letter was undersigned by the leaders of the major opposition parties of the country including Congress' Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar of NCP, HD Deve Gowda of JD-S, TMC's Mamata Banerjee, RJD's Tejaswi Yadav, DMK's MK Stalin, D Raja of CPI, Heman Soren of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Farooq Abdullah of JKPA and CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury.
The death of the Jesuit priest and activist amid fighting for bail on the grounds of medical conditions stirred a nationwide outcry on Monday. The octogenarian, who was suffering from multiple health issues one of which was Parkinson's, was denied basic necessities like straw and a sipper. It was after a countrywide campaign that a sipper was made available to the champion of tribal rights.
Activists across the country expressed anguish on his demise and called it an "institutional murder" and demanded the government be held accountable.
The country's possibly oldest accused died in custody after suffering a cardiac arrest on Monday. After the Bombay high court's intervention, Swamy was admitted to a private hospital when his condition started worsening due to Covid-19 infection.
