Supreme Court Advocate Prashant Bhushan, lawyer and women’s rights activist Vrinda Grover, Achin Vanaik of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace and journalist, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta joined Greenpeace International Executive Director, Kumi Naidoo and Greenpeace India Executive Director, Samit Aich to talk about the government’s recent actions towards NGOs.
Following the leaked IB (Intelligence Bureau) reports in June 2014, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) justified blocking Greenpeace India’s access to foreign funds in an affidavit to the Delhi High Court. This was done under the dubious pretext that the
NGO is involved in activities “adversely impacting national interests”.
Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International said: “Greenpeace is a globally respected organisation that for the last 40 years has worked for a sustainable and equitable future. We are present in over 40 countries. For us to be ‘blacklisted’ in this manner is unprecedented. Civil society voices are critical to any democracy, and suppressing these voices by harassment or denial of funding sources is against all that India represents to the world. This is not the image that the new government should be projecting to the world.”
Greenpeace has written to Minister for Home Affairs, Rajnath Singh, and Minister for Environment and Forest, Prakash Javadekar, seeking an appointment to discuss the case and Greenpeace India’s work.
“The discredited IB reports have distorted Greenpeace’s work in India – be it electrifying the village of Dharnai in Bihar that has been in darkness for three decades, or supporting the legal rights of tribals in Madhya Pradesh’s Mahan forests. These are core national and developmental issues that affect all Indians especially those living in the remote pockets of the country. Prime Minister Modi himself has supported the goal of inclusive democracy and electricity for all, so how can this, be considered anti-national?” said Samit Aich, ED of Greenpeace India.
The speakers also stressed that the government’s recent actions on the environment is at odds with its mandate of ‘Sabka Saath Sabha Vikas’, and emphasised that the role of environmental watch dogs like Greenpeace is important to keep checks and balances on government’s environmental policies.
Prashant Bhushan, Supreme Court Advocate, decried the MHA terming Greenpeace activities as against national interest. “When did advocating for clean development, energy access for all and the implementation of India’s laws become against national interest? When organisations like Greenpeace India raise their voices against the policies of the State that threaten the environment, they are operating within the constitutional frame of India and should be allowed to do so. The government is bending over backwards to attract foreign investment in mining, insurance, retail and other sectors – why is it afraid of the money that comes to legitimate NGOs?”