The CPI(ML) Liberation strongly condemns the filing of sedition cases against renowned folk singer Neha Singh Rathore and Dr. Madri Kakoti (also known as Dr. Medusa). These charges are nothing but a blatant attack on their constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression and dissent. This attack clearly illustrates the BJP’s deep contempt for the values enshrined in the Constitution, which their leaders have repeatedly attacked in the past.
The government’s handling of the 22 April terrorist attack in Pahalgam has exposed serious lapses in national security. Though it has publicly admitted failures, no one has been held accountable. Both Neha Singh Rathore and Dr. Kakoti have consistently exercised their democratic rights to hold power accountable. Through their art, writing, and public statements, they have courageously highlighted the government’s failure to uphold justice and ensure public safety. But rather than answering the burning questions across the country, the government is criminalizing dissent.
The government is attempting to whip up a jingoistic climate to divert attention from the Modi regime’s many failures and to incite Islamophobic hysteria. By manufacturing spectacles of performative retribution, it is using these as tools to silence democratic and dissenting voices.
This wave of assault and repression continues unabated across the country, with activists being targeted, the Sangh ecosystem vilifying Kashmiris and Muslims, and the government bulldozing homes and mass-arresting people in blatant contempt of the law of the land and constitution.
The CPI(ML) Liberation demands the immediate withdrawal of all false and politically motivated charges against Neha Singh Rathore and Dr. Madri Kakoti.
The CPI(ML) Central Committee calls on all democratic forces across the country to stand in strong solidarity with Neha Singh Rathore, Dr. Madri Kakoti, and all those targeted for asking critical questions. We must unite to defend our constitutional rights and democratic space against this assault.
– Issued by the Central Committee, CPI(ML) Liberation on April 29
