Responding to the notice served on her by the regional passport office, Mumbai asking as why her passport should not be seized over violation of rules, Narmada Bachao Andolan founder Medha Patkar on Thursday claimed that there has been a conspiracy in the country against those who are raising public voice.
The Mumbai-based Regional Passport Office has on November 2 issued a notice to Patkar asking her to explain why her passport should not be seized as she hid information on criminal cases filed against her at the time of getting her passport renewed on March 31, 2017.
The notice mentions that while applying for renewal of passport, she did not offer information on nine criminal cases pending against her including three at Barwani, one at Alirajpur and five at Khandwa.
To the media queries on the issue, Patkar who was in Bhopal for the past five days agitating on Sardar Sarovar Dam issue, said that she was exonerated in all but one case when she applied for renewal of passport in March 2017.
One case of violation of section 144 of CrPC was pending against me for staging protest at Barwani but that too was lodged in August 2017, she claimed. There were some cases where I never went and received no summons ever.
The NBA founder claimed she had replied to the notice claiming that the notice only bears FIR numbers and no case numbers so her lawyers are finding it hard to compile details but she with the information available has claimed that she did not hid any information of criminal cases.
AT the time of applying for passport, I had offered all the information about criminal cases lodged against me so why would I hide anything the second time, asked Patkar.
When asked if this is a conspiracy against her, the senior activist claimed that there had been concerted conspiracies in the country against those who lead mass movements.
Attempts are made to jail them anyhow, she added claiming some corporate and government representatives are conspiring against her.
Smilingly, she also alleged that it is a conspiracy to prevent her from undertaking international trips. Patkar also claimed that first notice on passport case was issued to her in October 2018 and she had offered her reply.