Protesters condemned his detention and likened it to 'Emergency-like crackdown to gag democracy.’
As Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday declined to get dragged into the issue of Anna Hazare’s 'undemocratic’ arrest in Delhi, his Kolkata friends joined him and condemned his detention and likened it to 'Emergency-like crackdown to gag democracy.’
When Banerjee was asked if she would comment on Hazare’s arrest, she even did not bother to reply back!
However, the state BJP quickly organised a protest march to Gandhiji’s statue in Mayo Road in Central Kolkata at 5 pm and condemned the arrest of Hazare as a ``panicky reaction of an unsettled Government haunted by scams and big financial scandals.’’
Speaking to DNA, party’s former state president, Tathagata Roy said: "The act proved that the Congress-led UPA II stood on sticky wicket, and they have no other alternative but to resort to gagging of democracy.’’
However, Roy did not agree to other human rights body and Team Anna in Kolkata that the UPA II move could be equated with Emergency. ``It may not be that extreme but UPA II proved they have many things to hide,’’ Ror added.
But People’s Union for Civil Liberties’ senior member and a human right activist Ajoy Dutta said ``It heard Chidambaram defending an utter undemocratic move by government in Delhi on most vague grounds for sheer reasons to kill a democratic movement, like Congress did during Emergency.’’
"But I am afraid, UPA II plagued by scandals has reasons to arrest Hazare but I can assure them that this movement will spread in Bengal and other parts of the nation,’’ Dutta said, adding," as people protested against Emergency, this will happen in this case also.’’
Team Anna’s Kolkata friends – India Against Corruption (IAC) – organised a small rally in city’s still most important and old place – Esplanade.
``We are all fasting since morning,’’ said Ramesh Kumar Sharma, coordinator of IAC. ``And we will shift College Square from tomorrow as police did not give us permission to carry on our programme here,’’ Sharma said adding, "`We want our honest Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to join us to give us the leadership to have a corruption free administration. Because Centre has already began Emergency like anti-democratic and unconstitutional means to gag right to free expression for citizens.’’
"She should realise that only corruption less West Bengal can prosper. After all corruption happens to be the sole reason for the country to remain at the backyard of socio-economic development,’’ Sharma said.
And IAC has vowed to carry on with their fasting programme till Hazare was allowed to carry on with his movement.
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