Latest news with #MedhaPatkar
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Orissa High Court upholds right to protest, quashes Rayagada DM's order
CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Friday quashed a controversial order issued by the Rayagada collector that barred Bhawanipatna-based doctor Randall Sequeira from entering the district. The June 4 order, which also applied to noted activist Medha Patkar and 22 others, was imposed ahead of a planned protest against proposed bauxite mining at the Sijimali hills. Delivering the verdict, Justice SK Panigrahi held that blanket bans on protest activities are contrary to constitutional values. 'In a constitutional democracy, the government should focus on dialogue and management rather than exclusion,' the court said, emphasising that reasonable regulation and not prohibition is the appropriate response to concerns over law and order. The court took note of the context in which the ban was issued - during the Rath Yatra festivities, when police resources were stretched thin. However, it stated that those constraints were temporary and it was no longer justifiable to continue the restrictions. Dr Sequeira, who has provided free healthcare services to tribal communities in Rayagada and Kalahandi for several years, had challenged the ban as unconstitutional. His counsel, Advocate Afraaz Suhail, argued that the order disrupted essential services and violated his client's fundamental rights. While lifting the restriction on Dr Sequeira, the court laid down operational guidelines for future protests. These include prior notification to authorities, cooperation from organisers, state facilitation of venue and time, and proportionate restrictions to maintain public order. This apart, protesters must ensure peaceful conduct and authorities must avoid arbitrary denial of protest rights. The court stressed that these guidelines are case-specific and do not dilute broader constitutional protections under Article 19. Violations by protesters or unjustified restrictions by authorities will both be subject to legal scrutiny, it said. Dr Sequeira is now free to enter Rayagada district and resume his work. The status of the ban on other activists, including Medha Patkar and Prafulla Samantara, remains unclear as of the judgment by Justice Panigrahi on Friday.
The Hindu
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Devanahalli protest: Medha Patkar appeals to CM to repeal project ahead of his meeting with farmers on Friday
Ahead of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's crucial meeting on Friday with farmers of Devanahalli taluk, who are demanding shelving of acquisition of their lands for Aerospace Park, social activist Medha Patkar has written a letter appealing to his 'conscience' to take cognisance of people's views and 'perspective of development' and repeal the project. Also, national leaders of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), including Rakesh Tikait, who arrived in Karnataka to meet the protesting farmers, not only appealed to the Chief Minister to consider the farmers' demand, but also warned of an intensified agitation if land acquisition is not shelved. They are also set to address a State-level convention titled 'Save Our Lands' in Bengaluru on Friday in support of farmers. Protracted fight Farmers of Channarayapatna hobli of Devanahalli taluk have been protesting for 1,186 days demanding that the notification on acquisition of 1,777 acres of land in 13 villages of the taluk be shelved. As their protest became broad-based with various progressive organisations lending their support, the chief minister has convened a meeting with their representatives in Bengaluru on Friday to discuss their demand. As the countdown began for the much expected meeting with the Chief Minister, Ms. Medha Patkar, in her letter, said, 'I appeal to your conscience, and Cabinet ministers, including Industries Minister M.B. Patil, to take cognisance of people's views and perspective of development and repeal the proposed project and save their livelihood which is a part of Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution.' During UPA regime She further said, 'You know that it was the erstwhile UPA government's regime, during which the LARR Act, 2013, was passed, and that provided big relief to the project-affected people since they were given space and participatory rights in the decision-making process. Yet in many of the States after 2013, different Acts/policies were passed using the right of the State, since land acquisition is in the concurrent list.' She hoped that the government under Mr. Siddaramaiah's helm would not bypass these participatory and democratic processes in decision making. 'We also expect that you would stand with the farmers, small traders and all those whose livelihood depends on the land which is proposed to be acquired for the industrial estate,' she said. 'We would like industries to be as decentralised, giving priority to these small industries, cottage industries, village industries that would generate employment rather than the mega-industries. Also, the land to be used for non-agricultural purposes should be mostly the government land and waste land and not the prime agriculture land,' Ms. Patkar said. Earlier, addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, SKM national leaders hoped that the Chief Minister would respond positively to the farmers' demands. They said the Chief Minister should send a message to BJP-ruled States that he is in favour farmers by shelving the project. Pre-poll promise Pointing out that he had assured farmers before the polls of dropping this project if voted to power, they argued that shelving the project should have been the first decision he should have made. Meanwhile, the National Alliance of Agrarian Communities and the National Alliance of People's Movements too sent a letter to the Chief Minister, urging him to stand by the toiling farmers. In another development, Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Patil, and other officials and Ministers held a marathon meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue.
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Is working for Dalits, farmers 'anti-national' ?: Medha Patkar slams BJP MPs over meeting walkout
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads A day after BJP MPs walked out of a parliamentary panel meeting she was invited to, activist Medha Patkar on Wednesday hit back, asking if standing up for Dalits, Adivasis, farmers and labourers now counts as "anti-national".A meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj to discuss the implementation of the land acquisition act ended abruptly on Tuesday as BJP MPs protested against the panel's decision to hear Patkar , who had led protests against raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat under the banner of ' Narmada Bachao Andolan '.The panel, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, had called Patkar to hear her views on the implementation and effectiveness of the land acquisition law enacted by Parliament when the Congress-led UPA government was in power in Union minister and BJP MP Parshottam Rupala was joined by other lawmakers from his party as they walked out of the meeting, with some dubbing Patkar as "anti-national". A BJP MP even said he had no idea that leaders from Pakistan could also be called to such a meeting."What is the charge of being anti-national? We are working with Dalits, Adivasis, farmers, labourers... Is that something anti-national? To protect their rights under the law and the Constitution, and the human rights, which are above the constitutional rights," Patkar told PTI."And even if whatever we are saying is wrong, they can oppose it. But that doesn't mean that they can call us anti-national or 'urban naxals'. This democratic process includes the parliamentary standing committee proceedings," she said she has participated in parliamentary panel discussions earlier and has been part of consultations carried out by the government for framing the Land Acquisition Act of 2013."Even when Sumitra Mahajan was in the Chair, we were given a good hearing," she said, referring to the former Lok Sabha Speaker and BJP said they were invited to appear before the panel, made their submissions, and all due process was said she was informed that a communication was sent by the secretary general of the Lok Sabha to the chairperson -- Congress MP Ulaka -- to cancel the meeting due to a lack of quorum. The activist said she was told by officials that 17 MPs had come for the meeting, and questioned how there was a lack of quorum."The written letter that the secretary general gave to the chairman to cancel the meeting gave only one reason that there is no quorum. The fact that I was invited to appear was not mentioned as the reason," she prime minister H D Devegowda's Janata Dal (Secular), which is a part of the BJP-led NDA, also participated in the meeting but not in the walkout, Patkar said."Mr. Devegowda, he did not walk out. He was just sitting quietly near the chairman," she about the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Patkar said they only demanded what was awarded by the Narmada Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) was established in 1969 to resolve the water-sharing disputes among Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan concerning the Narmada River."They are mentioning the position taken by the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Our position has been that the award by the Narmada tribunal should be implemented," she said."Even the World Bank stopped funding this project (Sardar Sarovar Dam), saying that it was an ill-planned project. The statistics on which the decision is based the data is flawed. The World Bank took a position that they had not followed the law," she World Bank had agreed to fund the project to increase the height of the dam in 1985. However, following protests by the NBA led by Patkar, they formed the Morse Commission to look into factors like environmental cost and human the World Bank decided to pull out of the project, the government cancelled the loan sanctioned by the World Bank on 31 March stressed that the rehabilitation of the families that were to be dislocated was important."There were thousands of families living in this area. How could they be denied fair and full rehabilitation? That was the question. Now, about 50,000 families have received rehabilitation. Whatever is remaining, a few thousand in Madhya Pradesh, hundreds in Maharashtra, hundreds in Gujarat, the dialogue is still going on," she said."We want the government to take immediate action and decision, but they are not doing it on war footing," she added.
The Print
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Panel meeting ending abruptly undermines spirit of parliamentary oversight: CPI(M) MP
The panel, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, had called Patkar to hear her views on the implementation and effectiveness of the land acquisition law enacted by Parliament when the Congress-led UPA government was in power in 2013. The meeting of the Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj was cut short as BJP MPs protested against the panel's decision to hear Patkar, who had led protests against raising the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat and is accused by the ruling party of working against the country's development interests in the name of public and environmental causes. New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) The abrupt ending to a parliamentary panel meeting after BJP MPs staged a walkout over its decision to hear activist Medha Patkar, undermined the spirit of parliamentary oversight and democratic consultation, CPI(M) MP K Radhakrishnan said on Tuesday. Former Union minister and BJP MP Parshottam Rupala was joined by other lawmakers from his party as they walked out of the meeting, with some dubbing Patkar as 'anti-national'. A BJP MP wondered if leaders from Pakistan could also be called to such a meeting. Radhakrishnan, who is the floor leader of the CPI(M) in the Lok Sabha and a member of the panel, said the incident raises serious questions. It needs to be examined if 'this is the first time in the history of Indian democracy that a standing committee meeting was disrupted and cancelled after a political walkout despite the presence of invited experts and concerned citizens,' he said. 'Such a precedent undermines the very spirit of parliamentary oversight and democratic consultation.' Radhakrishnan said the committee had convened to review the implementation and effectiveness of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and prominent activists — Medha Patkar and actor Prakash Raj — were among those invited. Before the proceedings formally began, NDA MPs protested the presence of the invited representatives, he said. 'The chairman assured them that their concerns would be taken up. However, as the invited guests entered the committee hall, five NDA MPs walked out in protest,' the CPI(M) MP said. He said that despite the walkout, the remaining members continued with the proceedings. 'However, shortly after, an official communication from the Speaker's office declared that the meeting could not proceed due to a lack of quorum and ordered its cancellation. As a result, the committee was forced to wind up.' Reacting to the incident, CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the BJP MPs were being 'intolerant'. 'The BJP has become so intolerant that it can't even hear the words of Medha Patkar and Prakash Raj. This is unbecoming of the ruling party; it should hear all sides. The Chairperson has the right to call witnesses,' Kumar told PTI. 'These MPs have proven that they are not people's representatives. An alarming sign of the BJP's future India concept,' he said. PTI AO NSD NSD This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
News18
01-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
BJP MPs Walk Out Of Parliamentary Panel Meet, Objecting To Presence Of Medha Patkar, Prakash Raj
Last Updated: The agenda included the consideration and adoption of two draft reports on government actions by the Department of Land Resources and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj The Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj met in Parliament on Tuesday morning, chaired by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka. However, the meeting soon became contentious over the participation of controversial figures, particularly social activist Medha Patkar. The agenda included the consideration and adoption of two draft reports on government actions by the Department of Land Resources and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. It also featured scheduled oral testimonies from representatives of various ministries, NGOs, and other stakeholders on the implementation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. top videos View All A committee member later told CNN-News18, on condition of anonymity, 'The chairman is generally known to be fair and soft-spoken. But it appears he was under pressure from the top leadership of his party. Summoning known Gandhi family supporters like Medha Patkar sends the wrong message." The tension culminated in BJP MPs staging a walkout after the chairman insisted on proceeding with testimonies from ten NGO representatives. With their exit, the meeting was adjourned due to a lack of quorum. First Published: July 02, 2025, 03:20 IST
