Shri Provash Ghosh, General Secretary, SUCI(C), has issued the following statement on 16.10.2021:
“When the people of the country have long been demanding repeal of the most atrocious AFSPA [Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act] and such other black laws that confer unbriddled power to the military-police-administration to arrest without warrant, detain indefinitely and even kill anyone they presume to be involved in a terrorist or such other anti-national activities because of random abuses of such special powers to abjectly violate human rights, suppress people’s movements and muffle the voice of protest or dissent, the BJP government, caring a fig to pay any heed to people’s demand, has now, instead, issued a fresh notification increasing the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) to give its officers the powers of arrest, search and seizure to the extent of 50 km from the borders inside the bordering states of Punjab, West Bengal, Assam and Tripura as well as Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and Ladakh. Even the Supreme Court said in June 2016 that the Indian Army or paramilitary forces cannot use “excessive or retaliatory force” even in areas under the controversial AFSPA attesting to the correctness of the people’s demand.
While severely opposing the new notification and demanding its withdrawal forthwith, we once again reiterate people’s demand to abrogate AFSPA and all such other black fascistic laws immediately.”
