In a press statement, the CPI(M) called for an immediate withdrawal of the legislation, cautioning that it grants extensive powers to even low-ranking police officers to suppress organized opposition to government policies.
Maharashtra: CPI(M) calls for withdrawal of Jana Suraksha Bill
The Maharashtra State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on Tuesday, 25th March, made a scathing attack on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's NDA-led State government's "Special Jana Suraksha Bill" (Special Public Safety Bill). They called the bill an anti-democratic measure designed to suppress dissent.
In a press statement, the CPI(M) called for an immediate withdrawal of the legislation, cautioning that it grants extensive powers to even low-ranking police officers to suppress organized opposition to government policies.
The party slammed BJP-led Maharashtra government, where CM 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.
Given the ruling alliance's strong majority in state legislature, the CPI(M) expressed concern that the Bill's passage is almost certain, equipping authorities with "draconian powers" to target those who oppose them.
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"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.
The CPI(M) highlighted public's struggles and said, "The people of Maharashtra are facing extreme hardships due to the anti-people policies of the BJP-led state and central governments," highlighting issues like farm produce prices, crop insurance, MGNREGA work, land rights, minimum wages, and caste-based discrimonation.
The party argued that the government is not focusing on these issues, rather it is "dynamiting people's democratic rights" to favour "corporate communal forces". It claimed that the bill, is a tool to bolster this agenda against public interest.
The CPI(M) slammed 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 cautioned that these measures are intended 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)
(With ANI inputs)
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