GUNTUR: The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 2019 is being used against people who raise their voice against the government, said senior journalist K Ramachandra Murthy.Speaking at an anti-UAPA meeting held at the Gurram Jashua Vignana Kendram here on Saturday, Ramachandra Murthy said the UAPA, 1967, was amended many times by successive Union governments.
“But the amendment made in 2019 allows the government to tag individuals as terrorists. Earlier, the government was only empowered to designate organisations, not individuals, as terrorists,’’ he said.
He said that the UAPA, 2019 might be successful under correct circumstances, but in the present situation, it is being used against people who raise their voice against the government. “It is also undemocratic because unlike an organisation, an individual has fundamental rights under the Constitution.
They may be arrested, detained and their movement may be restricted, which leads to violation of their fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution including Right to Equality under Article 14, Right to Speech under Article 19, and Right to Life under Article 21,’’ he pointed out. Noted lawyer Ratnaprasad termed the UAPA as vicious play of the Centre in the name of India’s fight against terrorism, to target the Opposition.
MLC KS Lakshman Rao said many undemocratic elements were incorporated in the Act. Apart from the violation of basic fundamental rules, the pre-charge detention has increased from 60-180 days, which is much longer than other democratic countries. “Having the right to vote simply cannot define democracy. The fundamental rules are the most important pillar. According to statistics, out of the total people being arrested under this Act, only 2.2% are proved guilty. And the remaining 97.8%, in spite of being innocents, are languishing in jails for years,” he added. K Sudha, State general secretary of Human Rights Forum, spoke.