Panaji: The Kerala Governor, Arif Mohammad Khan, has come down heavily against the Shaheen Bagh protests saying that what is happening there is not an expression of right to dissent but an attempt to impose views on others.
The Governor was speaking at a conference at the International Centre Goa on the topic, ‘Free Speech, Censorship & the Media: Does Law Impede Freedom of Speech?’
He said that we can have dialogue with someone who is expressing an opinion but not when a protester refuses to budge.
Arif Mohammad Khan said, “When you have this attitude that only I am right then dialogue is not happening. Dialogue happens when you are open to listening. Here, it is being asserted forcefully that we will not get up unless this law is withdrawn. The government is not going to decline dialogue if somebody comes.”
The Shaheen Bagh protesters, mostly women, have taken over a main region that connects South Delhi with Noida. This has blocked passage of vehicles through this place. The Governor criticized the protesters for disrupting normal life of others.
He said, “This is not right to dissent, this is an attempt to impose views on others. You have the right to express your views but you don’t have the right to disrupt normal life.”
