Greenpeace's Priya Pillai on why she rejects government's gag order

I will not accept any such gag offer. I was exercising my fundamental right and this is not just about me but the right of every citizen of the country.

If I accept that the government has a right to dictate what I can and can’t say, then India and all Indians would lose something priceless – our absolute right to free speech. I cannot and will not accept that.

The government’s so-called case against me is dangerous and dishonest. It says that by informing British MPs about a British-registered company’s activities in Singrauli I am somehow acting against India’s national interest. But our laws, Indian laws, are being flouted in Mahan, to the detriment of thousands of Indians, all to benefit a coal mining project. How is raising awareness of this anti-national? I am a proud Indian, and I will not be silenced.