The AAP on Saturday for the first time participated in a solidarity event for arrested NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha — a CPM member — although the party had condemned the crackdown on the Leftist’s website and its employees last October.
The convener of the AAP’s Delhi unit and minister, Gopal Rai, shared the stage with Left leaders to slam the Centre for the prolonged custody of Purkayastha.
Purkayastha and his colleague Amit Chakraborty have been in jail awaiting trial since October. They have been charged under anti-terror law UAPA for allegedly accepting funds infused illegally from US investor Neville Roy Singham — whom police have described as a member of the Communist Party of China. NewsClick has denied the charges.
At the meeting on Saturday, Rai said: “After a few days, it will be clear whether the jail is inside or outside. Are those inside jail the ones who are under arrest, or is it those who are outside.”
Praising Purkayastha for videos on how international developments affect India, he said the crackdown was a realisation that “alternative media is the medium of revolution”.
Rai explained: “Few knew the ED five years back…. They created terror by suppressing all voices that rose against them. But they realised that the Opposition defends these social movements. They realise that if they don’t stop the Opposition, then the Opposition’s voice pricks more than the nails that are laid on the roads to stop the farmers from coming to the national capital.”
Rai’s appearance comes at a time when his party is striving hard to mobilise public opinion in favour of its jailed leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and two MLAs under trial in the liquor policy case.
CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said: “The definition of justice has changed in India from ‘innocent until proven guilty’ to ‘guilty until you prove your innocence…’ Like how we fought during the Emergency and restored democracy, today we will defeat this dictatorship and fascist tendency and save India to build a better India in future.”
His CPI counterpart D. Raja said: “We are confronting a Right-wing fascist government. As long as they continue in power, many more draconian laws (like the UAPA) will be passed.
Author Githa Hariharan — Purkayastha’s partner — read out a message from Romila Thapar in which the historian said: “As for asking questions, let’s not forget that if knowledge has to advance, then we have to question existing knowledge and the practices based on it…. Some of our impressive intellectuals are in jail, from where they cannot express themselves, leave alone write for the public.
