The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on November 8.

THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the BJP state government of Chhattisgarh for registering a false case of murder against noted intellectuals and activists. Named in the case are Prof. Archana Prasad of JNU, Prof. Nandini Sundar of DU, Vineet Tiwari of the Joshi Adhikari Research Institute, New Delhi and Sanjay Parate, CPI(M) state secretary.  They have been charged under sections 302, 120B, 147, 148, 149, 452 etc of the IPC.

It may be recalled that a team of the above persons visited Bastar division from May 12-16, 2016 to interact with the people in order to understand the situation concerning the reports of growing atrocities against the tribals in that area.  At that time also, the district administration of Bastar tried its best to falsely implicate them on fake charges on the basis of a contrived complaint.  The general secretaries of the CPI(M) and CPI had written to Raman Singh, the chief minister  of Chhattisgarh and to the home minister of India to ensure the smooth conduct of legitimate political activities and to protect the human rights and civil liberties of the people of Chhattisgarh.   

The registration of false murder cases against political adversaries and renowned academicians for a murder that took place only last Friday, when they visited the area six months earlier, is a direct assault on our democratic polity and indicates the growing trend of authoritarianism in the state.  The CPI(M) demands that the Chhattisgarh government must withdraw this fabricated case immediately.

The CPI(M) calls upon all democratic-minded people to join in the protest against such blatant authoritarian attacks on people’s democratic rights and civil liberties.