'Modi govt fears truth and non-violence': Rahul on Ken-Betwa protest crackdown
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has criticized the BJP-led government for its crackdown on tribal protesters opposing the Ken-Betwa river linking project in Madhya Pradesh. The protesters, who were demanding fair compensation and rehabilitation, were dispersed by police after a 15-day hunger strike.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the ongoing tension between large-scale national infrastructure development and the land rights of indigenous tribal communities in India.
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the Narendra Modi government fears "both truth and non-violent resistance", days after police dispersed tribal protests against the Ken-Betwa river linking project in BJP-led Madhya Pradesh."The tribal brothers and sisters of Madhya Pradesh had sat on a water satyagraha and hunger strike because their land was taken away for the Ken-Betwa project, but they received neither fair compensation nor dignified rehabilitation," the Lok Sabha leader of opposition wrote on X. Calling tribals the country's "original owners", Rahul Gandhi asserted that the first right over water, forests and land "belongs to them alone.""And their 'satyagraha' is because that very right is being snatched from them today. In their unique way, their demand is simply this: provide a proper means of livelihood—or else life is no different from a funeral pyre.
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