Stop victimization, say angry activists; rally around Teesta

MUMBAI: There is an outpouring of support for civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad as other activists protested against the recent CBI raids on her Juhu house and offices and termed it "victimization".
Statements released by NGO Working Group on Human Rights and Sahmat, on behalf of academicians and intellectuals, protested the CBI raids as a "most shocking" instance of "misuse" of official machinery.Among the signatories were advocates Anand Grover and Romila Thapar.
Earlier this year, Indira Jaising, former additional solicitor general , was vociferous in her support when efforts were on to arrest Setalvad in another case. Jaising and others claimed there appeared to be a "vendetta" against Setalvad and her husband "who have worked for the rights of the 2002 Godhra riots victims".
The support transcended borders too. The Indian American Muslim Council also condemned the raids and said it was "BJP government's continued vendetta" against Setalvad. The raids had come in the wake of the SC approving Setalvad's anticipatory bail in another case pursued by the Gujarat government.
The CBI probe was initiated on the orders of the home ministry, which alleged irregularities in some foreign contributions received by Sabrang Communications, headed by Setalvad. Denying the allegations, she said, "Sabrang Communications, which published the monthly, Communalism Combat, had signed a consultancy agreement with Ford Foundation in 2004 and 2006 to address the issues of caste and communalism through a defined set of activities which had nothing to do with Communalism Combat or remuneration to me or my husband towards discharging editorial and managerial functions."
She said she had signed the agreement on legal advice that it violated no FCRA clause. "Ford Foundation deducted TDS with every instalment of consultancy fees it paid Sabrang, and activities and financial reports were submitted annually to Ford Foundation." She said that all records were shown during the FCRA inspection visit on June 9-10.
Setalvad said, "Deliberately or otherwise, the FCRA team is confusing lobbying that is part of the political process in the US with advocacy initiatives, whereby NGOs and activists engage with the government of the day to draw their attention towards the legitimate issues of women, Dalits, religious or linguistic or sexual minorities, differently-abled persons among others. It is ridiculous to equate such advocacy initiatives with lobbying."