Panjim:The Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP) has expressed its anger over the arrest of an elderly priest in Ranchi, Jharkhand by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The CSJP has called the arrest as shameful as the priest has dedicated his life to restore human rights and serve the vulnerable.
“The CSJP is aghast and distraught on learning about the arrest of 83-year-old Jesuit priest Fr Stan Swamy by the NIA with total disregard for the dignity and rights of an acclaimed human rights crusader. It is well known that the Catholic priest has devoted almost five decades of his life in lobbying and advocating for the rights of the Adivasis, especially their land rights in the State of Jharkhand,” Executive Secretary of the CSJP Fr Savio Fernandes said in a press statement issued on Tuesday evening.
The CSJP claimed that standing with the oppressed and voiceless sections of society has been Fr Stan’s spiritual duty and that he has also been serving the poor and marginalised to promote social justice and peace. He, the statement said, cannot be equated with any political ideology and militant organisation.
“To question the validity, legality and justness of several steps taken by the government in defence of the human rights of the voiceless and victimised sections of society is the essence of any religion and also of our Indian Constitution, and should not be construed as sedition,” said Fr Fernandes in the statement.
“When the nation has just observed the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, it is shameful that in independent democratic India an octogenarian, who suffers from several morbidities is arrested from his home after dusk by the intelligence agencies and flown out of the State overnight in what appears to be malicious accusations of having links with some alleged political conspiracy,” Fr Fernandes added.
CJSP further stated that in such times of a life threatening COVID-19 pandemic and SOPs requiring citizens above 65 years of age to remain at home, such insensitive and high-handed behaviour of a national government agency poses a grave threat to the life of this Catholic priest.
“Fr. Stan was no absconder from the law neither a terrorist, and has fully cooperated with investigating agencies in the months of July-August 2020 by even providing detailed statements to prove his non-involvement in any conspiracy,” it said.
It further added, “The humiliation and harassment meted out to Fr. Stan gives the impression of a vicious design of the Union Government to target the progressive work of the Christian community, which has always been recognised as a body of loyal, law abiding and service minded citizens committed to nation building and actively supporting several of the Government’s social welfare programs. There is now an apprehension in the community that by falsely implicating and dragging Fr Stan into an alleged criminal conspiracy of a political organisation, there is an attempt to brand Christians as anti-nationals and manufacture grounds to deny them their political space and curtail democratic rights and privileges.”
The Council has appealed to the Government of India to immediately release the human rights crusader Fr Stan Swamy.
