Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG), the
Indian affiliate of an international Buddist association, held a symposium on peace here on Wednesday.
The symposium titled "Universal Respect for Human Dignity: The Great Path to Peace" was organised by BSG, an affiliate of Soka Gakkai Internataional (SGI), to discuss about SGI President Daisaku Ikeda's 2016 peace proposal.
Former Vice Chancellor of Anna University, D Viswanathan, VIT Founder and Chancellor G Viswanathan and Lalitha Balakrishnan, Principal, MOP Vaishnav College for Women participated in the symposium.
Ikeda is a 'strong proponent of dialogue as the foundation of peace,' a release said adding the UN had conferred the Peace Award in 1983 on him.
"Each year President Ikeda sends a peace proposal to the UN that goes beyond diagnosing obstacles to peace and provides solutions that encompass attitudinal change and concrete suggestions," the release said.
Jaising, who served as ASG between 2009 and 2014, has
represented social activist Teesta Setalvad in an FCRA violation case against Setalvad's NGO 'Sabrang Trust' and 'Citizens for Justice and Peace'.
Jaising and senior Supreme Court lawyer Anand Grover are the office bearers of the Lawyers' Collective.
Grover was part of a lawyers' team to petition the Supreme Court on behalf of 1993 Mumbai blast convict Yakub Memon hours before he was to be hanged.
The Lawyers Collective (LC) statement said the order repeats what is alleged in the show cause cum suspension order dated May 31 and "disregards LC's replies in fact and in law. At the same time, certain new allegations have surfaced such as 'diversion' of foreign contribution and utilisation for 'personal gain', which are not borne out by the facts or the records, are absolutely false and defamatory.
"It is preposterous for the MHA to suggest that LC has no record of work, when the government itself has acknowledged LC's contributions towards advancing women's rights, securing access to affordable medicines, protecting the rights of HIV positive people as well as transgender persons and continues to call upon LC for its legal inputs," the statement said.
The statement said the NGO reiterates that the current proceedings under FCRA, including the latest cancellation order, are only a continuation of the harassment and persecution of the organisation, especially of its two trustees and senior advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover perpetrated by the government, over last one year.
"Both Jaising and Grover have been and are continuing to take up sensitive cases, in their professional capacity, against the powerful functionaries of the present ruling establishment," the statement said.
The action is perceived to be a "clear attack on the right to legal representation of persons who need legal services the most and a gross abuse of powers by the government of the day.
"It is also a clear attack on the right to free speech and association guaranteed by the Constitution of India. The entire proceedings against LC under FCRA are nothing but an attempt to discredit the long-standing credibility of the organisation and that of its trustees, and a part of the larger clampdown on civil society spaces in India," it said.
The NGO termed it as "preposterous to allege that LC has acted against public interest whereas LC has always strived to advance public interest through its pioneering work.
"LC is exploring all legal options to challenge the cancellation order, including its defamatory contents, and will take necessary action in an appropriate time," the statement said.
