- Wednesday, May 01, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE death of Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old activist who was arrested under an anti-terror law in October last year in connection with the Elgar Parishad case and kept imprisoned, has drawn a massive reaction from the opposition parties, activists, journalists and people from different walks of life.
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra mourned the death of the veteran who was allegedly denied proper medical attention during his confinement in times of the coronavirus pandemic. Swamy, who was accused to be a Maoist sympathiser, had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and also contracted the deadly virus in prison.
READ MORE: Stan Swamy, 84-year-old activist arrested under anti-terror law, dies in cusody
United Nations says it is ‘disturbed by the death’ of Stan Swamy
“Shocked to learn about the demise of Father Stan Swamy. He dedicated his life working for tribal rights. I had strongly opposed his arrest and incarceration. The Union Government should be answerable for absolute apathy and non-provision of timely medical services, leading to his death,” Soren, who had questioned Swamy’s arrest last year, said.
Stan Swamy was detained following due process of law, India government says
“Deeply saddened by the passing of Fr. Stan Swamy. Unjustifiable that a man who fought all through his life for our society’s most downtrodden, had to die in custody. Such travesty of justice should have no place in our democracy. Heartfelt condolences!” Vijayan, who leads India’s only Left-ruled state, said.
Swamy deserved justice, says Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi condoled the activist’s death on Twitter and said the latter “deserved justice and humaneness”. Vadra said in a tweet, “A humble tribute to Father Stan Swamy. How unfortunate that a person who served the poor and tribals throughout his life and became the voice of human rights, he was denied justice and human rights even in the hour of death.”
Senior Congress leader and former central minister Jairam Ramesh asked, “Who in the apparatus of the Indian state will be held responsible for this tragedy?” He added, “Make no mistake – it is the Indian state that killed Fr. Stan Swamy, who was such a passionate crusader for social justice.”
“This is nothing less than murder by the State of one of the gentlest & kindest men I have known. Unfortunately our judicial system is also complicit in this,” lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan said.
My head hangs in shame, says Rana Ayyub
“Father Stan Swamy, we as a country killed you. My head hangs in shame. Rest in peace Father, hero, champion of human rights,” journalist Rana Ayyub tweeted.
“84-year-old Jesuit Father #StanSwamy has passed away. Let us not talk about this as mere death. This is a judicial murder–and everyone is complicit: NIA, Modi- Shah, the judiciary that never saw the nonsense-upon-stilts which was Bhima Koregaon case, jails, ruling class & media,” Meena Kandasamy, a columnist with The New York Times and the Guardian, said.
Insensitive judiciary, says vocalist TM Krishna
“Just heard that Father Stan Swamy passed away. The Indian Government and our insensitive Judiciary are responsible for all that he went through towards the end of his life,” award-winning Carnatic vocalist and writer-activist TM Krishna tweeted.
Historian Ramachandra Guha tweeted saying: “Father Stan Swamy spent a lifetime working for the dispossessed and the disadvantaged. His tragic death is a case of judicial murder, for which the Home Ministry and the Courts are jointly culpable.”
Swamy had repeatedly approached the court over the last few months to bring to its notice the alleged poor health facilities and negligence he faced from the prison officials. He had also claimed that social-distancing norms were being flouted. Last week, the activist had filed a fresh medical bail plea in the Bombay High Court challenging the stringent conditions for bail to an accused charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. When the hearing started on Monday, Swamy’s lawyer told the court that he had passed away around 1.30 pm India Time.
It was in May when Swamy had told the high court that his health condition had declined consistently since getting imprisoned and warned that if it went like that, he “would die soon”.
