NSUI stage protests against Disha Ravi's arrest in Bengaluru

NEW DELHI: The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) staged an agitation here on Wednesday against the arrest of environment activist Disha Ravi and alleged that the government is "flirting with fascistic techniques" to quell democratic protests in the country.

The members of the students' wing of the Congress raised slogans against the BJP-led Centre and the Delhi Police for the "authoritarian crackdown on activists and supporters of the farmers' agitation". NSUI president Neeraj Kundan alleged that the Bengaluru-based climate activist was arrested and brought to Delhi without a transit warrant. "This government flirting with fascistic techniques of quelling democratic protests is nothing new. By waging a war against the students and youth of India, (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's authoritarian face has once again come out. "Only four sedition cases out of the 191 filed after this government came to power have resulted in convictions. The government uses tough laws and misuses them to silence all dissenting voices," he said in a statement.

Ravi was arrested from Bengaluru on Saturday by the Delhi Police for allegedly creating and sharing a toolkit in support of the farmers' agitation against the Centre's new agriculture laws. The Delhi Police had said on Monday that Ravi, along with Mumbai-based lawyer Nikita Jacob and Pune-based engineer Shantanu Muluk, created the toolkit that was shared with others to tarnish India's image and collaborated with pro-Khalistani elements. The NSUI said the government has "ignored the true essence of democracy" and its "Hitlership attitude" has ruined the country's image, adding that it should look into the matters of Kapil Mishra and Anurag Thakur, who had allegedly incited violence in Delhi last year. "We recommend the government to put these people behind the bars, instead of locking those who are supporting the farmers' protest," it said.