Weaponising extraordinary laws to silence dissent: Congress on rights activist held under NSA in Assam
Congress said this is a "blatant misuse" of preventive detention laws and "overreach" by the State
On August 2, 2026, the Congress party criticized the Assam government for detaining indigenous rights activist Pranab Doley under the National Security Act (NSA). The Opposition party alleged that this was part of a pattern of BJP governments weaponizing extraordinary laws to silence dissent. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh stated that Doley was arrested on July 30, just a day after the district court granted him bail.
Doley had been supporting villagers protesting against a proposed five-star resort near Kaziranga National Park, which the Assam Chief Minister had backed. Since 2022, indigenous residents of Golaghat have protested and petitioned the Gauhati High Court against the project, arguing that the land was forcibly acquired from them. The Assam Government's decision to invoke the NSA against Doley, according to Ramesh, was a blatant misuse of preventive detention laws and an overreach by the state.
The Congress leader also pointed out that Doley's arrest order relied on vague and speculative allegations, including that Doley had engaged in "suspicious foreign transactions from doubtful sources."
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