New Delhi| February 18, 2015| Greenpeace campaigner Priya Pillai today termed the government’s ’gag’ offer a taint on the democratic rights of citizens. The government offered that Pillai would be free to travel if she submits an undertaking that she will not make submissions in foreign countries.
“I will not accept any such gag offer. I was exercising my fundamental right and this is not just about me but the right of every citizen of the country,” said Priya Pillai, Senior Campaigner of Greenpeace India, who attended the hearing in the Delhi High Court today. “If I accept that the government has a right to dictate what I can and can’t say, then India and all Indians would lose something priceless – our absolute right to free speech. I cannot and will not accept that.”
“The government’s so-called case against me is dangerous and dishonest. It says that by informing British MPs about a British-registered company’s activities in Singrauli I am somehow acting against India’s national interest. But our laws, Indian laws, are being flouted in Mahan, to the detriment of thousands of Indians, all to benefit a coal mining project. How is raising awareness of this anti-national? I am a proud Indian, and I will not be silenced,” said Pillai.
Ms Indira Jaising, Senior Advocate, who represented Priya in the court said, “I am appalled that the interest of the government of the day are conflated with the interests of the nation. I consider it a denial of a basic right to freedom of speech. I will never advice my client to agree to ASG’s suggestion that if she signs and submits an undertaking that she will not go and make such submissions she is free to travel. It is not censorship, its pre- censorship”
Pillai and Greenpeace India have been supporting tribal villages in the Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh opposed to the Mahan coal mine, which threatens a large forest area that many thousands depend on for their livelihoods. Prior to its de-allocation by the Supreme Court in the “coalgate” verdict, the Mahan coal block was allocated jointly to London-registered Essar and Indian firm Hindalco. The growing fight to stop the mine is believed to be the reason Pillai was singled out by the government as she was headed to the UK to brief British MPs on the issue.
Pillai was not allowed to board her flight to London on January 11, allegedly because her name figured on a ‘lookout circular’ issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Pillai’s passport was stamped with the word ‘Offload’. She was scheduled to address UK parliamentarians concerned about the activities in India of UK-registered Essar Energy.
The government had blocked Greenpeace India’s access to money from Greenpeace International, which was dismissed by the Delhi High Court on January 20. In its ruling, the Court observed that this action was without justification or due process and ordered that the funds be released.
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