Reacting to the incident provoked by an SMS poll, which has controversial painter MF Hussain in the list of contenders for the Bharat Ratna Award, noted Gandhian and rights activist Chunibhai Viadya said, “Fascism can’t be justified under any circumstances because it is against the interest of society at large in the long run.”

“Violence in the name of religion either by Muslims attacking Tasleema Nasreen or Salman Rushdie, or leaders of Hindu Samrajya Sena attacking NDTV’s office can’t be justified,” he said. “What they have done is no Hinduism; it is simple fanaticism.”

Pointing out that the “culture of violence” has increased in the state in the last one decade, Vadodara-based human rights activist Rohit Prajapati said it was really shocking that the media and journalists have become a target of the fascist forces. “This is really very serious,” he said.

Holding the state government responsible for recurrence of such violence activities, he said it would stop only if the government took firm steps against the accused persons. “But the government seems to be siding with such elements as happened in the case of Parzania and Fanaa movies, which could not be screened in Gujarat following threats from saffron outfits,” he said.

Stating that the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech and expression to all the citizens and no one has the right to take the law in his own hands, Jesuit human rights activist Fr. Cedric Prakash appealed to the authorities to book those responsible for the incident to contain the “fascist and terrorist forces.”

The president of the state unit of Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties, J S Bandukwala said, “The incident shows the fascist raj in Gujarat. If media offices are not safe, one can imagine the condition of minorities under (Narendra) Modi’s rule.”

“The attack is absolutely deplorable and condemnable,” said Shabnam Hashmi of Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD). Another activist Gagan Sethi termed it a “retrogressive step”, adding, “we are entering a very bad time.”