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The Maharashtra State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on Tuesday issued a scathing condemnation of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's NDA-led State government's "Special Jana Suraksha Bill" (Special Public Safety Bill), calling it an anti-democratic measure designed to suppress dissent.
In a press statement, the CPI(M) demanded immediate withdrawal of the legislation, warning that it grants sweeping powers to even low-ranking police officers to stifle organised resistance against government policies. The party accused the BJP-led Maharashtra government, where Fadnavis also holds the Home portfolio, of masking its intent to crush democratic voices under the pretext of curbing "Urban Naxals." "The purported objective of the Bill, in the words of CM Fadnavis, is to curtail 'Urban Naxals'. The real objective is to suppress the voice and acts of organised democratic resistance," the statement read. With the ruling alliance's commanding majority in the State legislature, the CPI(M) expressed concern that the Bill's passage is almost certain, equipping authorities with "draconian powers" to target dissenters. "If passed, which is a surety given the massive majority the ruling alliance commands in the state legislature, it will give draconian powers even to the lowest-level police officers," the statement added. Highlighting the public's struggles, the CPI(M) noted, "The people of Maharashtra are facing extreme hardships due to the anti-people policies of the BJP-led state and central governments," citing issues like farm produce prices, crop insurance, MGNREGA work, land rights, minimum wages, and caste-based oppression. The party argued that instead of addressing these grievances, the government is "dynamiting people's democratic rights" to favour "corporate communal forces". The Bill, it claimed, is a tool to bolster this agenda against public interest. The CPI(M) criticised the Bill's vague provisions, which allow the state to declare any act or organisation "illegal unilaterally". It explained, "The state government has arrogated to itself the sole right of declaring any act or organisation 'illegal'," with penalties including three years' imprisonment and a Rs 3 lakh fine for members and up to seven years' imprisonment and a Rs 5 lakh fine for supporters or facilitators. The party warned that such measures aim to dismantle labour and civil society organisations. Pledging resistance, the CPI(M) vowed, "While condemning this neo-fascist attack by the Maharashtra government, [we] vow to fight it back tooth and nail by mobilising its mass base, as well as all sections of broad left and democratic opinion." (ANI)
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