Council passes PSA amid Opposition walkout

The passage of the Maharashtra Special Public Security Act (SPSA) in the state legislature has evoked sharp reactions from civil society groups, which say they will chalTenge the law in the courts and won't hesitate to take their protest to the streets.

- Surendra P Gangan and Yogesh Naik

The law has also exposed cracks within the opposition, as the bill was supported by opposition parties in the legislative assembly on Thursday but opposed in the legislative council on Friday, even as the ruling parties cleared it in the upper house.

Civil society groups and social organisations, which have opposed the law ever since the draft bill was first tabled in the legislature last year, had submitted more than 12,300 objections to the proposed legislation. They say that although the state claims the bill is aimed at curbing “urban naxals”, the preamble is open-ended and does not spec-

ify “urban naxal” and “unlawful activities”. This empowers the government to take action against any individual they want to silence, they argue.

Critics of the bill say they will approach the governor of Maharashtra, to urge him to refrain