ID :
147655
Wed, 10/27/2010 - 09:16
Auther :
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https://oananews.org//node/147655
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LawMin yet to receive file on Geelani, Roy from MHA: Moily
New Delhi, Oct 26 (PTI) The Law Ministry is yet to
receive any reference from the Home Ministry on the
possibility of 'sedition' charges against Hurriyat hardliner
Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy for their
recent remarks on Kashmir's 'azadi'.
"There has been no reference from the Home Ministry in
this regard yet," Law Minister M Veerappa Moily told PTI here
tonight when asked if any request for a legal opinion on the
issue had been received.
At the same time, he also expressed concern over the
remarks made by Geelani and Roy at a seminar on 'Azadi' here
recently.
"Freedom of speech is a valuable right. We have to deal
with it very cautiously...the statements are of great concern.
It does not go with the national ethos," he said.
Dubbing the remarks as "most unfortunate," Moily said
freedom of speech cannot violate patriotic sentiments of the
people.
"Yes, there is freedom of speech...it can't violate
the patriotic sentiments of the people," he said.
The Law Minister said in India there are people who
support one view or the other since the time of Ramayana.
On BJP's allegations that government remained silent on
the developments, he said, "Politics cannot be mixed with
statements which border sedition."
Meanwhile, sources said that Home Ministry, after
seeking opinion from its legal department, has asked the Delhi
police to see under what charges Geelani and Roy can be
booked.
The remarks made by Geelani and Roy at the seminar had
evoked a strong reaction from BJP with its leader Arun Jaitley
accusing the government of "looking the other way" when a
number of separatist groups met at a conference to instigate
sedition.
The Booker Prize winning author had said, "Kashmir has
never been an integral part of India. It is a historical fact.
Even the Indian government has accepted this."
At the convention on 'Azadi-- The Only Way', Geelani
shared the stage with writer Arundhati Roy and pro-Maoist
leader Vara Vara Rao among others. Geelani was heckled by the
audience with one of them throwing a shoe.
receive any reference from the Home Ministry on the
possibility of 'sedition' charges against Hurriyat hardliner
Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy for their
recent remarks on Kashmir's 'azadi'.
"There has been no reference from the Home Ministry in
this regard yet," Law Minister M Veerappa Moily told PTI here
tonight when asked if any request for a legal opinion on the
issue had been received.
At the same time, he also expressed concern over the
remarks made by Geelani and Roy at a seminar on 'Azadi' here
recently.
"Freedom of speech is a valuable right. We have to deal
with it very cautiously...the statements are of great concern.
It does not go with the national ethos," he said.
Dubbing the remarks as "most unfortunate," Moily said
freedom of speech cannot violate patriotic sentiments of the
people.
"Yes, there is freedom of speech...it can't violate
the patriotic sentiments of the people," he said.
The Law Minister said in India there are people who
support one view or the other since the time of Ramayana.
On BJP's allegations that government remained silent on
the developments, he said, "Politics cannot be mixed with
statements which border sedition."
Meanwhile, sources said that Home Ministry, after
seeking opinion from its legal department, has asked the Delhi
police to see under what charges Geelani and Roy can be
booked.
The remarks made by Geelani and Roy at the seminar had
evoked a strong reaction from BJP with its leader Arun Jaitley
accusing the government of "looking the other way" when a
number of separatist groups met at a conference to instigate
sedition.
The Booker Prize winning author had said, "Kashmir has
never been an integral part of India. It is a historical fact.
Even the Indian government has accepted this."
At the convention on 'Azadi-- The Only Way', Geelani
shared the stage with writer Arundhati Roy and pro-Maoist
leader Vara Vara Rao among others. Geelani was heckled by the
audience with one of them throwing a shoe.
