BENGALURU: Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil here on Sunday gave a call to Gandhians across the country to raise their voice against Section 226 of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita as it curtails the right to stage ‘satyagraha’ (hunger strike) preached by Mahatma Gandhi.
“Whoever attempts to commit suicide with the intent to compel or restrain any public servant from discharging his official duty shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both, or with community service. This means the police can straight away arrest those on satyagraha,” he said, delivering his address at the two-day international seminar on ‘Gandhi for the 21st century’, organised by the Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi, Karnataka at Gandhi Bhavan.
“The Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi and Gandhians who believe in satyagraha should have raised their voice against the new law. But unfortunately, except for the Karnataka government, no voices were heard. How can you accept a law that suppresses the satyagraha,” he asked.
He suggested bringing in special laws to protect the assets of the Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi and related institutions, like the laws to protect the properties of wakfs and cooperative institutions. The assets are facing the threat from land grabbers across the country, he alleged. Gandhi’s great grandson Tushar Gandhi, on Friday, had alleged that there is a landgrabbers’ threat even to the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat.
On the ST development corporation scam, he said politicians alone cannot be blamed for corruption as bureaucrats illegally transferred money from the government’s account to private accounts.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santhosh Hegde, delivering the valedictory address, said the country has been wracked by corruption and listed scams since the 198os, including the import of jeeps from Great Britain, Bofors, Commonwealth Games, 2G and Rafale deal. He felt there is a mad rush for money and power in society and the remedy is to impart values among children at home.