Glorifying Maoists as patriots of a kind, controversial writer Arundhati Roy today accused the prime minister and the Union home minister of "violating the Constitution and PESA (Panchayat Extention of Scheduled Areas) act by allowing corporates to use tribal land."
"Patriots of a kind, they (Maoists) are. But here patriotism is very complicated. So at the moment what people are fighting for is to keep this country from falling apart," Roy told reporters after addressing a meeting on "Cultural resistance to war on people in corporate interest", organised by a magazine considered to be pro-left.
To a question, the writer-cum-activist, however, said she did not think there could be only Maoist revolution for solving problems. "There will be a new kind of alliance of all kinds of people," said Roy, whose visit here was opposed by saffron outfits like RSS and ABVP for her remarks on Kashmir.
Stating that PESA Act was enacted to safeguard rights of tribals and others living in scheduled areas, the Booker Prize winner said that Prime Minister and home minister were saying that forest land was needed for other purposes.
"They (PM and HM) enact laws and violate it," Roy alleged claiming that local people, particularly tribals had every right over the land, forest and water in their areas.
Besides PM and HM, the police, CRPF and BSF also violate laws framed under the Constitution, she alleged.
Accusing successive governments at the Centre of "frequently" using military force in places like Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and the Northeast, Roy said while people in Pakistan are fighting against military rule, "some people here want to use brute force to suppress people's voice."
"Force was being used by the government and not the Naxalites," she alleged.
