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therefore, it will create an atmosphere of fear for the people that there has been a lot of misreporting on National
living here in Delhi.” Security Act by certain section of media houses which is do-
The senior advocate further said, “I cannot speculate for ing the fear-mongering job among the peaceful and poor
whom and for what reason the NSA has been invoked in protesters.
Delhi. This is not the first time that NSA has come into force, The National Security Act made headlines when it was
it was imposed before also. In Uttar Pradesh, it was used used to arrest Dalit leader and Bhim Army chief Chandra
where people were picked under the National Security Act, Shekhar Aazad (2017) for 15 months over Saharanpur caste
including Chandra Shekhar Aazad of Bhim Army.” violence case and Manipur journalist Kishore Chandra
Prominent activist Saket Gokhale while speaking with Wangkhem (2018) for 12 months for criticising BJP-led chief
this reporter said that there is nothing new about National minister N Biren Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Security Act, 1980, being invoked in Delhi since it is already on his social media accounts. In January 2019, three persons
applied in every part of India, except for J&K. However, the were booked under NSA in Uttar Pradesh in alleged connec-
implications of this Act cannot be ignored. tion with a cow-slaughter incident.
“The implications of this Act are actually serious. You There is a growing criticism against the current state gov-
cannot just look at this in isolation, but from the prism of ernments on the way the draconian NSA has been used. In a
the background of the Delhi Police over the last two three report released by the Uttar Pradesh government in January
months. We have seen a lot of arbitrariness and procedures 2018, it was revealed that 160 people were detained under
being violated by them. It does raise concern whether NSA the National Security Act in just one year.
will be used arbitrarily to detain protestors because there After Delhi, the state of Andhra Pradesh has invoked the
is no definite wording of what constitutes a security threat. Preventive Detention Act and the National Security Act,
Look, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad was detained 1980. The move has come in the wake of the protests against
for a long time in Delhi. You don’t know tomorrow if the the Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s decision to shift
Delhi Police will exercise these power against the peaceful the capital city from Amaravati and have a three-state
protesters,” said Saket. capital.
Come February 1, Delhi will have a new police commis- Delhi is gearing up for the Legislative Assembly election
sioner as the tenure of Amulya Patnaik which is scheduled for February 8, and
is coming to an end on January 31. This the Parliament’s Budget Session is to
could be another matter to worry since The National Crime Records be held on January 31. Hence, there is
the identity, ideology and background Bureau (NCRB), which expected to be more pressure on Delhi
of the new commissioner is still un- Police to restore law and order in the
known to the public. collects and analyses crime national capital.
“It is fundamentally important for There is a feeling among the critics
us to know who the new commissioner data in the country, does that Delhi police may go more aggres-
is? What if the individual is someone not include cases under sive to dissuade the peaceful protestors
with history of high-handedness or from coming on the streets.
who has a controversial background? the NSA as no FIRs are Tehelka tried to reach out to Delhi
Knowing the ideology and views on registered. So, no figures Police Chief Amulya Patnaik and Delhi
national security of the new commis- Home Minister Satyendar Kumar Jain,
sioner also has a bearing on whether are available for the exact but couldn’t get a response at the time
NSA is applied indiscriminately or not,” number of detentions of filing the story.
said Saket.
The activist also pointed out under this Act LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

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