Take note of MHA's intimidation, Greenpeace India tells Modi

Greenpeace India on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “take note” of the intimidation campaign unleashed against it by the Home Ministry, warning such actions would tarnish India’s standing abroad.

In an open letter from Executive Directors of Greenpeace India and US at a time Modi is in the US, the NGO said the UN Special Rapporteur has “recently criticised” India’s actions in “suppressing” civil society and “vilifying’ voices of dissent”.

“In fact, on the very eve of the Prime Minister’s address to the United Nations, the organisation’s primary bank account was frozen, once again denying Greenpeace access to donations received directly from its Indian supporters,” the letter said.

“The actions of some officials in the MHA, and the resultant shrinking of the space for constructive dialogue have served to tarnish India’s international standing as a country that respects free speech and democracy. At a time when we need to focus instead on the imperatives of the environmental issues facing us all, these actions serve merely as a distraction, and raise serious questions about your government’s commitment to democracy and to addressing environmental issues,” it said.

The letter signed by Vinuta Gopal, Interim Executive Director of Greenpeace India, and Annie Leonard, Executive Director of Greenpeace US, said they looked forward to working with the Indian government on common objectives of ensuring clean, affordable renewable energy for all.

Greenpeace also lent its support for India’s ambitious new renewable energy goals and hoped Modi would be able to secure support from global partners, civil societies and investors to realise them.

“We congratulate you on setting new and ambitious renewable energy targets and urge a focus on decentralised renewable energy as the fastest most cost-effective way to tackle India’s energy poverty challenge,” said the letter.