Stating that the country is facing an Emergency-like situation, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said the situation in India under the British rule was not as bad as it is today.
In a press conference, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the recent incidents in the country forced him to feel that democracy was in danger. He was carrying a copy of Frontline’s recent issue with the cover story “Civil Liberties in Peril” and referred to reports published in the issue in his address.
“Former Union Minister Chinmayananda Swami had been accused of abduction and rape. While the victim had been sent to jail, the accused had been kept in an air-conditioned room. Activists and intellectuals had been imprisoned in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case for several months. And, see what has happened to former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhat in Gujarat for speaking the truth,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said.
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He said he would not keep mum though he was aware of the consequences if he spoke against the present regime. “Whenever there is an election, a surgical strike is done. The people who were once Ministers in the Vajpayee government have been put behind bars. How long can the government keep its army in Jammu and Kashmir?” he asked.