Activists say Teesta, husband being 'hounded' by govt

Coming out in support of Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand, members of civil society, scholars and media personalities today accused the government of "hounding" the two activists for daring to raise their voice against it.
Setalvad, who has been working for providing justice to Gujrat riot victims, along with her husband has been facing legal actions for allegedly diverting foreign funds.
"The whole government machinery has been engaged in harassing and intimidating Setalvad and Javed. Is the government trying to say that look, these are consequences you will face if you dare to raise you voice against us?" asked Harsh Mander, Director, Centre for Equity Studies.

Citizens for Justice and Peace and Sabarang Trust, run by Teesta and Anand, were served notices by the Home Ministry about two months ago asking the NGOs why their registration under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) would not be cancelled as on-site inspection of records and books of accounts of the two found "irregularities and financial misappropriation".
Questioning the timing of government's action against Setalvad, activists alleged that it is an attempt to thwart her efforts to bring justice to the victims since the cases she has been fighting have reached crucial legal stage.
"Why is it all being done now after 12 longs years? They want to divert the attention by engaging her legal charges. They want to hamper the cases of the victims as they have reached crucial stages and carry 25,000 pages of evidence against important people in the government," Madhu Prasad, a retired associate professor of Delhi University, said.

"The hounding of Teesta Setalvad is timed to coincide with the publicly articulated urge of the Prime Minister to get a 'clean chit' from the courts in relation to the ongoing cases in Gujarat, which Teesta has been doggedly pursuing. She is the victim of the pursuit for justice," she added.