Civil society activists question PM’s 'silence' on attacks on dissent

NEW DELHI: Prominent citizens and civil society activists on Saturday questioned the “silence” of the Prime Minister’s Office on the recent “blatant” attacks on free speech of writers and academicians and demanded that these constitutional rights be protected.

The citizens in a joint statement said that in the last fortnight there had been a “resurgence” of attacks to curb the right to free speech and expression of those who did not “share the euphoria, hope and enthusiasm associated with recent election results”.

The statement said the brutal lynching of an innocent young professional in Pune, following the arson and rioting in reaction to a Facebook post, is evidence of a “continuing atmosphere of intolerance and fear that threatens our democracy and must be stopped immediately”.

It said such attempts to curtail the right to free speech and expression have been recurring over the past two decades, irrespective of the political party in power.