On August 30, the NIA conducted raids on the homes of democratic rights activists, lawyers, Farmer leaders, and student activists across nine locations in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. The targets included Advocate Mandeep (President AFDR Chandigarh/Mohali), Advocate Ajay Kumar (Democratic Rights Lawyer and Anti-Displacement Activist), Sukhwinder Kaur (General Secretary, Bharti Kisan Union Krantikari), Davinder Azad (Student Activist, Inquilabi Chhatar Morcha Allahabad), and Advocate Pankaj Tyagi (Renowned Lawyer, Sonipat). Following these raids, the NIA issued interrogation notices, summoning them to Lucknow on various dates. Advocate Ajay Kumar was interrogated extensively at the NIA office in Chandigarh and was officially arrested at 3 AM. He has since been transferred to Lucknow.
Law and order are state matters, yet the Union Government, through agencies like the NIA, is encroaching upon state powers, as part of the BJP government's sustained endeavour to suppress democratic and dissenting voices on fabricated pretexts. The NIA, along with agencies like the ED and CBI, has become a primary tool for the Union Government to stifle opposition and silence progressive voices.
This latest action is a continuation of a disturbing trend where false cases are fabricated to unlawfully imprison intellectuals and activists, as seen in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case, where it is now revealed that the so-called evidence was planted on the devices of the accused.
Ironically, the Aam Aadmi Party party which heads the Government in Punjab has failed to speak out against this even though its own leaders have been jailed by the Modi regime.
AILAJ strongly condemns the use of NIA and other agencies as tools by the fascist state to crush democratic, dissenting, and progressive voices, or any form of opposition. It is crucial to resist and defeat the tightening grip of fascism on democratic and dissenting voices.
