'Absolutely laughable': Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal questions 'draconian' Public Security Act

Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal on Monday refuted the government's claim that the "draconian" Public Security Act was introduced to eliminate urban Naxalism, calling it "absolutely laughable", and warning that it would "suppress the common people".

Despite the passage of the bill, Sapkal reiterated that it would face strong opposition from the Congress, with "symbolic burnings of this black law" carried out in every district of the state.

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Speaking at a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, Sapkal further questioned the very intent behind the Public Security Act, calling it "sinister".

Claiming that the only beneficiaries of this law would be the government and the industrialists who supported it, such as those who "grabbed land" in Dharavi, looted mineral resources in Surjagad (Gadchiroli), and wanted "red-carpet access" to the Shaktipeeth corridor.

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Criticising the fact that resistance was futile—since it would lead to them being jailed and their properties seized—he lamented at the censorius nature of the Act.

"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? Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must clarify," he questioned.

Openly challenging the Act, he emphasised that if CM Fadnavis believed that the leftist ideology was "poisonous", then the Congress would expose the "poison being spread in the RSS shakhas". 

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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."

He noted that social activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, who worked to eradicate superstitions, was murdered, as were Govind Pansare and Kalburgi, who enlightened the masses through their writings.

"The same forces behind those murders are also behind the attack on Sambhaji Brigade’s Pravin Gaikwad," he alleged.

India