From December 2019 to January 2020, a case was filed against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Switzerland for allegedly brutally suppressing state-wide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). An international organization called ‘Guernica 37 Chambers’ has filed the complaint under Article 264 of the country’s penal code (genocide and crimes against humanity) at the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office.
It was at this time that Yogi was invited to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF). The event will be held from January 16 to 20 in Davos, Switzerland. Meanwhile, a complaint was filed against the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in the Swiss court last Tuesday. Litigation firm ‘Guernica 37 Chambers’ is a specialized organization of the world’s leading criminal and human rights lawyers.
The organization’s founder, Toby Cadman, said the contents of the criminal report against Yogi, the identity of the victims and complainants, and information about the applicants in the case have been kept confidential. This decision has been taken keeping in mind their lives and safety.
‘Guernica 37 Chambers’ in a statement said – “On the orders of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, many have been jailed on false charges. Many have been killed, many have been tortured. According to the criminal report, the attacks on the common people of India, mainly on Muslims, have been indiscriminate. It is a crime against humanity.”
Speech of Yogi
The organization also said that they believe what the state police did was done on the orders of top members of the Uttar Pradesh government including Yogi Adityanath. “In a speech on December 19, 2019, Yogi told the police that ‘revenge’ should be taken against the protesters. This suggests that the violence by the police in the state has the support of the Chief Minister,” the organization said in a statement.
The Citizenship Amendment Act was passed in December 2019. After that many people went against this law. Allegedly, at least twenty two people were killed by the police in the name of suppressing the protest. Police tortured 117 people. 307 people were suddenly arrested.
Letter to Union Labor Minister regarding PF
Central trade union UTUC has demanded the government to make arrangements to bring more people under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF). That is why they have written to the Labor Minister Bhupendra Yadav requesting to raise the upper limit of salary as a qualification for naming this scheme. They demanded that the amount of pension in PF should be increased keeping in mind the rising cost of living.
It should be noted that in the current law, those whose monthly salary is within 15 thousand rupees, have to come under the PF compulsorily. And the minimum pension in this scheme is 1000 rupees. The workers have been demanding an increase for a long time.
UTUC general secretary Ashok Ghosh said that on October 1, 2014, the upper limit of salary for entering the PF was increased from rupees 6500 to rupees 15 thousand. But now with the salary structure in various organizations, many workers cannot take advantage of this social security scheme.