Centre trying to vilify bodies helping riot victims: Teesta

March 22, 2015 01:53 am | Updated October 18, 2016 01:04 pm IST - CHENNAI

Social activist Teesta Setalvad on Saturday alleged that the Modi government was trying to malign the organisations helping the survivors of the Godhra riots.

Addressing a press conference here, Ms. Setalvad alleged that the government was trying to “malign, vilify, persecute and financially cripple an organisation that has given legal aid to the survivors and that is what we are going through.” There were 120 convictions from 68 cases they had handled.

Holding that it would be difficult for the survivors to fight cases unless they get legal aid, she said, “The attempt by the governments in Delhi and Gujarat is actually to remove us from the scene.”

Elaborating on the pattern of violent caste or communal incidents across the country, Ms. Setalvad said that there was a systematic build-up to the violence against a caste or communal group and it does not break out spontaneously.

“It is the biggest myth about violence that it breaks out spontaneously.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.