Arrest by ‘amoral’ state imminent, says Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde
BENGALURU: Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde, who is among the Left-wing activists accused of being a Maoist sympathiser, said he is likely to be arrested on November 1, when his petition challenging his inclusion in Bhima-Koregaon violence case is coming up for hearing.
His comments came in the backdrop of the arrest on Friday of Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves, members of the Elgaar Parishad, after a special court rejected their bail plea following their month-long house arrest.
Speaking at the Bengaluru Literature Festival during the session ‘Questioning the Foundations of the Indian Republic’ on Saturday, he said what has happened to the two arrested activists can happen to anyone. “I was not sure that I would come here as my arrest was imminent,” he added.
“What happens to us can happen to anyone. They (Central government) developed an entire episode in the ‘fakest’ way possible, as if to make a statement that they can do anything and get away with it,” he said during an interaction with writer Chandan Gowda.
He also expressed surprise at the fact that he was still free, as the government could arrest him anywhere, anytime.
He said the country is witnessing a situation in which the state itself is becoming ‘amoral’ and has fabricated evidence against activists, which goes to show that people are living in a “dangerous time in the country”.
“People of the country have not understood the intensity of the menace (propagated by the government). They think that it is business as usual in the country, which it isn’t. The immediate goal will be to defeat the ruling coalition. But, they have created an image that there is no electoral alternative to them,” he said.