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Greenpeace India is an environmental NGO campaigning against air pollution and the unsustainable use of natural resources in India. Its registration was cancelled by the Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies (RoS), under which Greenpeace India registered as an NGO in India.

A statement from the NGO said, "While several international leaders, including the United Nations Secretary General have recently upheld the importance of civil society in healthy democracies, this (cancellation) notice is the latest assault on free speech in India." According to sources, Greenpeace India will approach the Madras high court to challenge the order as early as possible.

NGO, Interim Executive Director, Vinuta Gopal said, "The RoS is clearly acting under directions from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Delhi, which has been trying to shut Greenpeace India down for over a year now."

"The MHA's clumsy tactics to suppress free speech and dissenting voices are turning into a major national and international embarrassment for this government. This is an extension of the deep intolerance for differing viewpoints that sections of this government seem to harbor," Gopal added.

According to him, the order was passed by the RoS without granting a hearing to Greenpeace and not complying with the order of the Madras high court to address each query and point of the NGO.

"This is a blatant attempt to circumvent the legal process and shows no respect for the law. We are confident that we are on strong legal ground. We have faith in the legal process and are confident of overcoming this order," Gopal said.

-Sumana