Notwithstanding denial of permission to fly to London to address an All Party Parliamentary Group of British Parliament on the rights violations of forest-dwelling communities in Mahan, Madhya Pradesh, Greenpeace campaigner Priya Pillai went ahead with the engagement via Skype on Wednesday. Pillai's name was one among a list of people, who have been debarred from travelling out of the country. She was offloaded from a London bound Air-India flight on Sunday.
Along with her colleagues, she has been campaigning against proposed mining for a thermal power plant by a corporate giant situated in the Sal Forests of Mahan in Singrauli district. Speaking to the group of British Parliamentarians, she said, "I am here to represent the people of Mahan to ensure that their rights guaranteed under the constitution of Indian are not trampled upon." She urged the group to exercise their influence over the London-based company that had planned to mine coal in Mahan. The coal block licenses though were de-allocated by the Supreme Court last year.
Yet to receive any reply from the union ministry of home affairs on their decision to 'offload' her, Pillai said, "When will someone in the government stand up, take responsibility and say, 'I ordered this'.? We are determined in our campaign to protect India's environment and we will continue our work in Mahan in face of massive clampdown."
In a statement released on Wednesday, Greenpeace India, said, "The British MP's were disappointed that Priya could not be present in person, as Skype was not the best way to understand a delicate issue like Mahan. However, they agreed for a video conference."
Virendra Sharma, a British MP of Indian origin chairs the Indo-British APPG that heard Pillai via Skype.
On Tuesday, dna had reported that Pillai was stopped from travelling to United Kingdom as her travel expenses were being borne by Greenpeace UK, amounting to violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), as Greenpeace India was barred from using foreign funds by the union ministry of home affairs without prior clearance. The campaigner's name had also figured in an Intelligence Bureau that charged Pillai with working against the country's economic interest.
