The Maharashtra State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on Tuesday, 25th March, made a scathing attack on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's NDA-led State government's "Special Jana Suraksha Bill" (Special Public Safety Bill). They called the bill an anti-democratic measure designed to suppress dissent.

In a press statement, the CPI(M) called for an immediate withdrawal of the legislation, cautioning that it grants extensive powers to even low-ranking police officers to suppress organized opposition to government policies.

The party slammed BJP-led Maharashtra government, where CM Fadnavis also holds the Home portfolio, of masking its intent to crush democratic voices under the pretext of curbing "Urban Naxals."

"The purported objective of the Bill, in the words of CM Fadnavis, is to curtail 'Urban Naxals'. The real objective is to suppress the voice and acts of organised democratic resistance," the statement read.

Given the ruling alliance's strong majority in state legislature, the CPI(M) expressed concern that the Bill's passage is almost certain, equipping authorities with "draconian powers" to target those who oppose them. 

"If passed, which is a surety given the massive majority the ruling alliance commands in the state legislature, it will give draconian powers even to the lowest-level police officers," the statement added.