Prioritise human rights, Amnesty tells Guj govt

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Amnesty International has called upon the new Gujarat state government, which came to power through a landslide victory, to uphold human rights and fulfill India’s inter national covenants. The human rights group has in the past been very critical of the BJP administrations in the western state but has chosen to appeal to them as they have come to power again.

“Religious minorities in the state of Gujarat, particularly Muslims, have been victimised through discriminatory laws and policies that violate international human rights treaties to which India is a state party.

At the same time, human rights defenders who raise their voice to stand up for the rights of marginalised communities have been relentlessly hounded and punished. It’s time that the next government not only rolls back these repressive laws and policies but also ensure those responsible for forced eviction and abuse of power are brought to justice.

Victims must be provided with access to justice and effective remedies,” chair of the board at Amnesty International India, Aakar Patel said.

‘Demolitions illegal’ Patel added that bulldozing of Muslim properties that took place in April earlier this year were illegal and amoral. The demolitions had taken place in Khambat town of Gujarat after incidents of communal violence, citing that they were built “illegally”.