New Delhi, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) on Wednesday expressed deep concern and dismay over the five-month jail term imposed on activist Medha Patkar in a defamation case filed against her by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
The farmers' body also described as a mockery of justice that a renowned social activist is punished on the basis of fabricated materials while corporate forces manage to abuse her positions of power.
"AIKS expresses deep concern and dismay over the five-month jail term and Rs 10 lakh fine against Medha Patkar in a defamation case filed by current Delhi lieutenant governor V K Saxena," the affiliated farmers' body said. left in a statement.
The defamation case was filed before an Ahmedabad court in 2001 and was transferred to Delhi on the order of the Supreme Court.
"V K Saxena, as an official of JK Cement and the Adani Group since 1990, had opposed the movement for the rehabilitation of Adivasis, Dalits, workers and farmers of the 244 villages affected by the Narmada dam. In 2000, Saxena had published a advertisement against Medha Patkar and Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) and motivated articles were published against her allegedly at her behest.
"He had also filed a PIL against her in the Supreme Court, which had been dismissed with the comment that it was a 'personal interest litigation' and had been fined Rs 5,000. He is also allegedly accused of physical attack on her at a meeting at the Sabarmati ashram, which is a pending case since 2002," the AIKS said.
The farmers' body said it stands in solidarity with Patkar and asked people to expose corporate forces and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, who together are suppressing the "voices of people fighting to protect the rights of life of the poor". ".
The AIKS, the agricultural wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), condemned successive state and Union governments for failing to ensure justice to tens of thousands of victim families affected by the Narmada project.
He said that even after the UPA government enacted the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh governments were not ensuring the right of farmers and rural workers of the Narmada Valley to receive compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement. , Gujarat and Maharashtra.
"The AIKS strongly demands that the BJP-led NDA government provide justice to the victims of the Narmada project, ensuring them employment and supporting their livelihood through rehabilitation and resettlement," he added.
NBA leader Patkar was on Monday sentenced to five months simple imprisonment by a Delhi court in the defamation case filed by Saxena 23 years ago, when he was running an NGO in Gujarat.
Patkar and Saxena have been involved in a legal dispute since 2000, after she filed a lawsuit against him for running advertisements against her and the NBA.
Saxena had also filed two cases against Patkar in 2001 for allegedly making derogatory comments against him on a television channel and issuing a defamatory press release.
The farmers' body also described as a mockery of justice that a renowned social activist is punished on the basis of fabricated materials while corporate forces manage to abuse her positions of power.
"AIKS expresses deep concern and dismay over the five-month jail term and Rs 10 lakh fine against Medha Patkar in a defamation case filed by current Delhi lieutenant governor V K Saxena," the affiliated farmers' body said. left in a statement.
The defamation case was filed before an Ahmedabad court in 2001 and was transferred to Delhi on the order of the Supreme Court.
"V K Saxena, as an official of JK Cement and the Adani Group since 1990, had opposed the movement for the rehabilitation of Adivasis, Dalits, workers and farmers of the 244 villages affected by the Narmada dam. In 2000, Saxena had published a advertisement against Medha Patkar and Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) and motivated articles were published against her allegedly at her behest.
"He had also filed a PIL against her in the Supreme Court, which had been dismissed with the comment that it was a 'personal interest litigation' and had been fined Rs 5,000. He is also allegedly accused of physical attack on her at a meeting at the Sabarmati ashram, which is a pending case since 2002," the AIKS said.
The farmers' body said it stands in solidarity with Patkar and asked people to expose corporate forces and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, who together are suppressing the "voices of people fighting to protect the rights of life of the poor". ".
The AIKS, the agricultural wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), condemned successive state and Union governments for failing to ensure justice to tens of thousands of victim families affected by the Narmada project.
He said that even after the UPA government enacted the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh governments were not ensuring the right of farmers and rural workers of the Narmada Valley to receive compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement. , Gujarat and Maharashtra.
"The AIKS strongly demands that the BJP-led NDA government provide justice to the victims of the Narmada project, ensuring them employment and supporting their livelihood through rehabilitation and resettlement," he added.
NBA leader Patkar was on Monday sentenced to five months simple imprisonment by a Delhi court in the defamation case filed by Saxena 23 years ago, when he was running an NGO in Gujarat.
Patkar and Saxena have been involved in a legal dispute since 2000, after she filed a lawsuit against him for running advertisements against her and the NBA.
Saxena had also filed two cases against Patkar in 2001 for allegedly making derogatory comments against him on a television channel and issuing a defamatory press release.
