Kalyani: Noted civil rights activist
Binayak Sen on Tuesday demanded the repeal of the sedition law and
the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
"A large number of human rights organisation have joined
hands to oppose the sedition law and the Unlawful Activities
Prevention Act (UAPA)," Sen said at a felicitation function
here.
He said the human rights organisation would collect the
signature of 10 million people against sedition law and it
would be sent to Parliament.
Sen, a pediatrician and public health specialist, is
also the national vice-president of the People`s Union for
Civil Liberties.
He has been accused of sedition by the Chhattisgarh
Government, and a Raipur Court had sentenced him to life
imprisonment. But he was granted bail on April 15, 2011 by the
Supreme Court.
Sen has been made member of the Planning Commission`s
Steering Committee on Health, which will advise the panel on
the Twelfth Five-Year Plan (2012-2017).
When asked what he would do in the committee, he said "I
will have to first know what the Centre wants from me and then
I will do the plan. It is premature to say anything now."
Sen said he will leave for Delhi soon to attend the
meeting of the steering Committee on Health May 26 in Delhi.
Then he will go back to Chhattishgarh and will submit his
passport on May 27.
Sen recently received the Gwangju prize for Human
Rights, South Korea`s most prestigious award for those working
on peace, democracy and justice in Asia.
Sen, popular among the villagers of Chhattisgarh for
social work, said as per the Body Mass Index (BMI), 37 per
cent of the adult population in India suffered from chronic
malnutrition.
"47 percent children below five years are facing
the same chronic undernourishment and malnourishment and it is
extremely alarming for the future generation of the nation.
"Among the SCs, the BMI is below 18.5 and a large-scale
minority population suffer from the malady," he said.
Sen was in West Bengal to spend some days with his
mother Anusua Sen and wife Ilina in Nadia district.
Sen who has been selected by the Centre to be part of
the Planning Commission`s Steering Committee on Health, said
he would return to Delhi soon.
PTI
