PROPOSED MAHARASHTRA PUBLIC SECURITY ACT YET ANOTHER ACT TO SUPPRESS VOICES OF DISSENT!
The news circulating for some months, has resurfaced again, that the Maharashtra government is planning to pass the Maharashtra Public Security Act, against the so-called “Urban-Naxalism”
Raising your voice against injustice, against the government policies is the corner-stone of the democratic and civil rights framework under any democratic rule. However, the news reports say that at least 34 organizations are spreading anti-government agitations. Deputy Chief Minister Fadanvis has been found saying that they want to model it after the UP Public Security Act. The law aims to ban “frontal organizations that carry forward the Maoist agenda, incite violence to corner the government on the pretext of activism or championing for the oppressed.” It is very clear that the law aims to suppress any voice that stands for the oppressed, or against the government by naming it urban-naxal propaganda.
The Uttar Pradesh Special Security Force (UPSSF) allows the government to search and arrest anyone without a warrant. Thus it gives draconian powers to the police to act against ANY person. Not only that it bars even a probe into “misuse” of this law by any police officer. Parties like Congress and Samajwadi party are paying lip-service by issuing statements like the law is “an attempt to silence Opposition leaders, social activists and critics of the Yogi government”; however their own governments have passed and implemented similar laws like the POTA, TADA, UAPA, in the past. In fact, this law has been under discussion even under the Congress-NCP governments. The Odisha Industrial Security Force Act also gives such draconian powers.
Enacting of such a law when the movement lead by CPI(Maoist) itself is under severe decline, shows that this law is just a facade to actually suppress the democratic voices of those who oppose the fascist Modi government’s policies. The immense misery, unemployment, poverty, corruption, inflation are causing havoc on people’s lives and the governments want to suppress any voice raised against it. One must not forget that in the past almost every other people’s/political movement, including the (rich) farmers movement, even the thoroughly bourgeois party like AAP, and even some industrialists who complained against the government policies, not to mention a large number of human rights activists, journalists, student leaders, labour leaders, etc have been termed as “urban-naxal” by the supporters of the BJP-RSS. This is characteristic of the fascist rule which does not even spare the voices of “its own” including the non-fascist bourgeois parties, in order to protect the interests of the capitalist class in general and big capitalist class in particular, in the period of growing economic crisis resulting from declining rate of profit. Implementation of the new oppressive laws BNS, BNSS, BSA without even a proper discussion in the parliament, is also demonstrative of this fact.
There is enough evidence to demonstrate that such laws exist only to suppress the voice of the political opponents. The conviction rate under Section 153A in 2020 was just 20.2, and even lower in some other laws. Conviction rate under UAPA based on persons arrested was only 2.8 percent. Such laws allows indefinite incarceration of the accused and the process itself becomes the punishment for innocents. The law has been under consideration for long time, because the state machinery is aware that it will be challenged in the courts and its implementation itself may create serious problems for any government. The dangers of the severe misuse of such a law, by police officials, successive governments, against their opponents it not only real, it is imminent, and proven so by history.
RWPI condemns the attempt of the Maharashtra government to pass such a law that tramples upon the already weak democratic and civil rights, the right to dissent and form associations.
Down with fascism! Repeal all draconian laws! Release all political prisoners!
