Hyderabad: VS Krishna and S Jeevan Kumar, members of the TS&AP Coordination Committee, Human Rights Forum, on Saturday condemned the decision of Telangana government to declare 16 organisation as unlawful associations for a period of one year. Among them, there are some organisations like Virasam, Civil Libetries Committee (CLC) which have been functioning for decades. They described the move as an attempt to criminalise political beliefs and throttle dissent. The following is the press release issued by them:
“The Human Rights Forum (HRF) strongly condemns the declaring of 16 organisations by the Telangana government as unlawful associations for a period of one year. Among these organisations are the Civil Liberties Committee (CLC), Virasam, Telangana Praja Front, Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners, Tudum Debba and Chaitanya Mahila Sangam. HRF is of the opinion that this is a brazen attempt by the State to criminalise political belief and throttle dissent. It runs afoul of democratic principles. The Telangana Public Security Act, 1992 that was invoked to declare these organisations as unlawful associations is nothing but a political instrument disguised as penal law. What it seeks to make unlawful is not violence – which has been proscribed ever since the birth of the State in history – but politics and social activism that is not palatable to the ruling dispensation. Such an approach impinges upon fundamental freedoms and is unacceptable in a democracy. G.O. No. 73 of 30-3-2021, under which the 16 organisations were declared unlawful associations, has the effect of whittling away basic liberties and does enormous damage to the very notion of democracy. HRF sincerely hopes better sense prevails with the Telangana government and the notification is revoked forthwith.”
