Writer and academic Kancha Ilaiah cautioned the AP Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, that he would be committing a “historic blunder” if he tries to stop the public meeting at Vijayawada by the ‘Professor Kancha Ilaiah Solidarity Social JAC’ on October 28.
Referring to the news reports that permission has been denied for the meeting, Ilaiah, addressing a press conference on Thursday along with T-MASS leaders said, the meeting would be held nevertheless, as the JAC had not received any information about the denial of permission. If Mr. Naidu does not guarantee free speech and democratic expression, his appeal to attract foreign investments would be in vain since western democracies were very clear and firm on the question of the right to free speech, Prof. Ilaiah said. The meeting is scheduled to be held on the subject of ‘reservations in the private sector’ and ‘democratisation of business at various levels’ and cancellation of the meeting will amount to throttling of the voices of SC, ST, Bahujan and minority communities.“We will raise the question of social responsibility of industry and business in the interest of the nation and the people,” he maintained.
Activist and T-MASS member U. Sambasiva Rao said that the municipal grounds were rented on October 9, and police permission was due on Thursday. On October 24, the ‘Aryavyshya, Brahmana Aikya Vedika’, whose convenor was a TDP worker, met the police and said that they were going to hold meeting at the same venue and on the same day. The police in turn imposed section 144 on the city, on the pretext of law & order issues. T-MASS convenor John Wesley termed it as a ploy by the TDP government to suppress the voices of the oppressed communities. Former civil servant Kaki Madhava Rao and AAP spokesperson P. L.Vishweshwar Rao expressed their solidarity.
