Political parties and social organisations have condemned the attack on senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Wednesday and called for stringent action against the culprits and measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Terming the attack “barbaric,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said those behind it should be arrested and the organisation they were associated with should be identified. “The issue needed to be dealt with strictly to avoid recurrence of any such incident… No right thinking person will support such kind of action.”
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram noted none had the right to take the law into his hands and said he had directed Delhi Police Commissioner B.K. Gupta to take appropriate action against the assailants.
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Describing it as “reprehensible,” Ram Madhav of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh urged that those behind the attack be brought to book.
Prakash Javadekar of the Bharatiya Janata Party alleged that the Congress was behind the attack. He demanded an inquiry.
Calling it a “cowardly act,” the former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) president, H.D. Deve Gowda, said it was a sad day for democracy as a handful of anti-social elements dared to assault a champion of constitutional rights on the premises of the country's highest court.
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Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat and CPI national secretary D. Raja said it was an attack on the freedom of expression and speech.
The National Alliance of People's Movements and the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan said the attack was another example of increasing levels of intolerance and contempt for the democratic right to express views.