The Maharashtra government is considering diluting several provisions of the controversial Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, after opposition legislators and civil society activists questioned the necessity of such a law when existing legislations like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) already addresses terrorism and Naxalism. The proposed bill grants sweeping powers to the state to act against alleged Left-wing extremism. It has faced widespread backlash for being “repressive” and potentially prone to misuse against dissenters and government critics.
A 26-member joint select committee, comprising legislators from across political parties is presently reviewing the bill. It has received more than 12,300 objections by civil society groups and social organisations across the state. Despite government sources claiming the changes, the revised draft has yet not been signed by the legislators of the joint select committee. The next and final meeting is scheduled on June 25 where the said draft is likely to be presented. “If the amendments are not as per the discussion, it will be difficult for us to sign. We may have to submit the dissent note in that case,” said a legislator from opposition who was part of the Joint Select Committee.
The state government in May 2024 introduced the said bill. It gives sweeping powers to the state government to clamp down Naxal activities. It was opposed by civil society groups as well as opposition parties in the state saying those opposing government will be targeted using the bill by labelling them as involved in Naxal activities.
“One of the questions we raised was about allegations of malpractices in arresting several individuals to call them Naxal. There are allegations of planting digital evidence, hacking their e-mails. The law can be misused by agencies as proposed bill gives freedom to government agencies to use unlimited power to target individuals,” said a legislator from legislative council.
The legislators also pointed out that existing UAPA has been used against Naxals in many cases. “We asked that why can’t the same be used? Why do we need this new law?” he said.
According to another opposition MLA, the government was also asked about how agencies will differentiate between anti-government and anti-India protests? “What if there is an act of violence in a protest against a government project by organisations? Will they be tried under this new law or existing ones? How will you differentiate?” the MLA asked.
The demand of defining ‘who is a Maoist’ has also been raised, which has no clear answer in the present form of the bill. “What constitutes a Maoist according to the government? We pointed out that if an affiliation to an organisation makes one Maoist, then we already have laws to deal with it,” the MLC said.
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Government sources have claimed that in a revised draft of the bill, amendment has been introduced to try only organisations and not individuals under the new law. In addition, the word ‘unlawful activities’ in the objective has been changed to ‘unlawful activities of Leftist extremists.’
“The bill is now related to unlawful activities of Naxal or Leftist organisations. While I have demanded to remove the word Urban Naxal, I can comment on it only after seeing the draft of the bill,” said NCP-SP MLA Jitendra Awhad, a member of the committee.
Another legislator Satej Patil of Congress sounded cautious. “We have to wait until we see the draft. We have not yet signed it. We have raised valid questions in all three meetings and held deliberations for hours. We expect a positive response from the government,” he said.
