Congress accuses Assam govt of misusing NSA to detain activist after bail
The Congress party has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Assam of misusing the National Security Act (NSA) to detain a land rights activist, Pranab Doley, just a day after a district court granted him bail. The party alleges that the detention is a bid to suppress democratic dissent.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday that the Assam government invoked the NSA against Mr. Doley on July 30, hours after a court granted him bail in a case related to his support for villagers protesting against a proposed five-star resort near Kaziranga National Park. Mr. Ramesh described the detention as a “blatant misuse” of preventive detention laws and an overreach by the State.
According to the Congress leader, Mr. Doley was arrested for supporting indigenous residents of Golaghat district who have been opposing the resort project since 2022, claiming that their land was forcibly acquired for the project, which is backed by the Assam Chief Minister.
Mr. Ramesh cited the Sessions Court’s bail order, which reportedly observed that “where ecological preservation intersects with indigenous survival, criminal law cannot be used to suppress legitimate local anxieties”. He argued that the NSA detention directly contradicts this judicial observation.
“It is clear that the Assam government invoked the NSA to do exactly that. Doley’s NSA detention order relies on vague and speculative allegations, including that Doley had engaged in ‘suspicious foreign transactions from doubtful sources’, which is the Modi government’s familiar script,” Mr. Ramesh alleged.
He also claimed a broader pattern of BJP governments using extraordinary laws like the NSA to stifle dissent, citing instances of its invocation against labour activists in Uttar Pradesh. “The Assam government continues to show utter disregard for the rule of law and for democratic dissent,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court and several High Courts have repeatedly cautioned that preventive detention laws must not be used as a device to defeat or circumvent judicial orders granting bail or to prolong a person’s incarceration.
The National Security Act, a preventive detention law, allows authorities to detain a person for up to 12 months without trial to prevent them from acting in a manner prejudicial to national security or public order. Civil rights groups have often expressed concern over its use in cases involving protest and dissent.
The Assam government has not yet issued a response to the Congress’s allegations. The claims remain unverified, and the state government is yet to provide a detailed explanation for the NSA detention order.
