Mumbai, Jul 14 (PTI) The Congress will burn copies of Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill in every district as the intent behind it is sinister, the party's state unit chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said on Monday.
The bill was passed by the assembly on Thursday and by the council on Friday. It will come into force on receiving the governor's assent.
The Devendra Fadnavis government's claim that it has been introduced to eliminate "urban Naxalism" is absolutely laughable, Sapkal asserted at a press conference.
On Sunday, CM Fadnavis had said "this new law will help us in taking big action against urban Naxalism".
Those speaking against the bill are "in a way trying to take forward the Left Wing Extremism ideology", Fadnavis had told reporters in Nagpur.
Hitting out at the state government, Sapkal said, "This law is draconian inside and out and is meant to suppress the common people. That is why the Congress 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 burning of this black law will be carried out in every district."
He did not provide any details of when this protest programme will be carried out.
"The very intent behind this bill is sinister. The only beneficiaries will be the government and the industrialists who support it. Those who have grabbed land in Dharavi, looted mineral resources in Surjagad (Gadchiroli), and want red carpet access to the Shaktipeeth Expressway corridor are the ones who will benefit," he alleged.
On the other hand, environmentalists and tribals in Gadchiroli, residents of Dharavi, and farmers opposing the Shaktipeeth project, if they resist, will be jailed and have their properties seized, Sapkal further claimed.
"The underlying message is clear. Either praise the government or remain silent. If you raise your voice in protest, the hammer of the Special Public Security Act will be used to silence you. 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," he asked.
CM Fadnavis must clarify on this issue, he added.
"If these are Naxalite ideas, then I will continue to express them. If Fadnavis wants to arrest me for that, he's welcome to do so. If Fadnavis believes that Leftist ideology is poisonous, then we will expose what poison is being spread in RSS shakhas," Sapkal said.
Referring to the killings of rationalists and progressive thinkers like Dr Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi, Sapkal said the "same forces behind those murders are also behind the attack on Sambhaji Brigade's Pravin Gaikwad".
Gaikwad was attacked in Akkalkot in Solapur district on Sunday by activists of a group called Shiv Dharma Foundation for his alleged remarks on Swami Samarth.