BENGALURU: The Congress has expressed anger over the incident involving civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad, who was not allowed to speak at the Indian Institute of Science, where she had been invited by some students and professors, on Thursday.
Congress MLC BK Hariprasad, who was a former governing board member of IISc, said, ‘’I am shocked with the treatment meted out to Teesta Setalvad. If she had said something against the Constitution, I would be the first one to stop her. She is only saying things to foster communal amity. How can a premier institution like IISc prevent her from speaking about constitutional values which foster brotherhood among different religions?’’
Minister Eshwar Khandre said, “This kind of execution of authority is unacceptable... How can anyone be prevented from speaking about communal harmony?’’ MLC Saleem Ahmed said, “Teesta Setalvad is a Padma Shri awardee. In spite of the Centre hounding her, she has not been held guilty ... She is speaking on communal harmony, which is the need of the hour.’’