The Maharashtra unit of the Congress and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), led by Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, announced here on Tuesday that they will oppose the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, which is now before the Maharashtra Governor for formal assent after being recently passed by both the legislative assembly and the legislative council.
Announcing his party’s plan to oppose the law, VBA president Prakash Ambedkar posted a statement on his X handle, stating, “The Maharashtra Public Safety Act is an ‘undeclared emergency’. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi will go to court against this act. The same mistake that Indira Gandhi made during the 1975 Emergency is being repeated. The BJP has imposed an undeclared emergency in the form of the Public Safety Act. The time has come to fight decisively against this law. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi had already opposed the Public Safety Bill, and it has now decided to go to court against it. Other political parties should also join this fight.”
“Photographs of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi worshipping weapons like AK-47 and Tommy Gun are available everywhere. Only certain soldiers in the Indian Army are allowed to use these weapons. Where did the RSS get these weapons from? Will the government take action against them as ‘Urban Naxals’ or not? Even the opposition is silent about photographs of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Mohan Bhagwat, and Narendra Modi worshipping such firearms. Should action be taken against them under the Public Safety Act or not? According to the law, it is legal to possess pistols, but possessing weapons like AK-47 and Tommy guns is a crime according to the law, and it is tantamount to overthrowing the state. Since RSS leaders possess and display such weapons, action should be taken against them first under this law,” VBA president Prakash Ambedkar said.
“The Public Safety Bill was not aggressively opposed in both Houses of the legislature. It is just a gimmick for opposition leaders to come to the media and speak after people have opposed it on social media. If a common citizen shows photographs of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, PM Narendra Modi, and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis worshipping RSS weapons and files a complaint in court against them, demanding that they be declared as ‘Urban Naxalites’, then all these political opposition parties should stand behind that person. Only then will it be proved that you are truly an opposition,” Prakash Ambedkar said.
“Will you call a workers’ protest march ‘Urban Naxalism’? If a political party begins an agitation about an issue, will you call it Urban Naxalism? If farmers raise their voice against not getting value for their agricultural produce, will you call it Urban Naxalism? Will you call it Urban Naxalism if they demand action against private moneylenders? Who exactly is the government going to call ‘Urban Naxalites’,” Prakash Ambedkar said.
“You can call someone who has weapons and ammunition a Naxalite because he is trying to overthrow the state through illegal means. It should be checked whether those who are overthrowing the state through illegal means have weapons and ammunition or not. RSS activists have weapons and ammunition. They have even declared it publicly. Will they take action against the RSS for Urban Naxalism under the Special Public Security Bill,” Prakash Ambedkar said.
Meanwhile, the Congress announced here on Tuesday that it will symbolically burn the copies of the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill (Jan Suraksha Bill) in every district of Maharashtra.
Alleging that the “black law” was created only for the benefit of the government and its favoured industrialists, Maharashtra Congress chief Harshavardhan Sapkal said, “The only beneficiaries of this law will be the government and the industrialists who support it, besides those who have grabbed land in Dharavi, looted mineral resources in Surjagad (Gadchiroli) and want red carpet access to the Shaktipeeth corridor. This law is draconian and is meant to suppress the common people. That’s why the Congress party has opposed it from the very beginning. Despite the ruling party having passed the bill using their majority in the assembly, the Congress’s opposition remains strong, and symbolic burnings of this black law will be carried out in every district of the state.”
“Is it Naxalism to espouse constitutional values, or to spread the thoughts of Shivaji, Shahu, Phule, and Ambedkar? Is it Naxalism to promote the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi and Tukdoji Maharaj? Fadnavis must clarify. If these are Naxalite ideas, then I will continue to express them, and if Fadnavis wants to arrest me for that, he’s welcome to do so. If Fadnavis believes that leftist ideology is poisonous, then we too will expose what poison is being spread in RSS shakhas,” Sapkal said.