Goa CM defends police questioning over ‘Free Umar Khalid’ placard
“We have arrested only those who were trying to run an anti-national movement in Goa on the back of this protest,” Pramod Sawant tells The Indian Express.
We have arrested only those who were trying to run an anti-national movement in Goa on the back of the Free Umar Khalid protest, said Goa CM Pramod Sawant. (Express photo) Days after the Goa Police questioned two activists who had attended a recent protest in the coastal state against the NEET paper leaks, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told The Indian Express that “none would be allowed to run an anti-national movement”. One of those detained allegedly carried a “Free Umar Khalid” poster.
The activists, who joined a protest in Mapusa on July 24, were asked by the police to fill a questionnaire, The Indian Express reported on Thursday.
On the sidelines of the National Conclave for Goan Architecture and Sustainability, Sawant, when asked about the interrogation, said, “Ek hi baat kahoonga main. Koi anti-national movement ko chalaaye to nahin chalega. Humne aur kisi ko arrest nahin kiya hai. Jo anti-national movement Goa mein chalana chaah rahe thhe iss protest ke sahaare unheen ko arrest kiya hai (I will say only one thing. If someone wants to run an anti-national movement, it won’t work. We haven’t arrested anyone else. We have arrested only those who were trying to run an anti-national movement in Goa on the back of this protest).”
Asked about the “Free Umar Khalid” placard, he said, “It is the same thing. I am talking about the same thing. That is why we have arrested them.” The activists were detained and questioned, but were not arrested and charged.
The Goa CM said that “everyone has a right to protest; if there is an issue, people will protest”. Asserting that “we have never said no to that”, Sawant insisted that “the cause of the protest has to be identified”. “If it is for their rights, it is okay,” he said.
What the controversy is about
On the evening of July 25, the day after the protest, the Goa Police detained a man for allegedly carrying a “Free Umar Khalid” placard at Panaji’s Azad Maidan. At least two were summoned — one on July 26 and the other on July 27 — and questioned by the police, based on an “application” submitted by a local group called “Citizens of Mapusa”.
They were also made to fill a police questionnaire that included at least 240 questions, including: “Who was leading the protest?; Are you a member of any WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal group related to the protest?; How did you travel to the venue?; What did you intend to achieve through the protest?; and Are you associated with any political party, social organisation, student organisation, NGO or activist group?”
Many of the questions were about Khalid, an activist and a JNU alumnus who is facing charges of criminal conspiracy under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. Earlier, Khalid was rounded up from the JNU campus in 2016 during a police crackdown after an event where questionable slogans were purportedly raised, leading to a long standoff between the government and sizable sections of the prestigious university.
While the CJP protest against NEET paper leaks has, for now, ended with the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Minister of Education, police action against protesters in various places is emerging as the latest bone of contention in Parliament as well as outside. The CJP said it had got an assurance that FIRs against peaceful protesters would be quashed – some state governments also announced it – but reports of police pursuing some cases have kept things on the boil.
A zero FIR has also been registered against 25-year-old Noida resident Ruchika Singh for allegedly using abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the protest site of Jantar Mantar on July 23.
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