Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who piloted the Bill, has defended it as essential to check “urban Naxal” activity and protect public order. (File Photo)The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — comprising Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) — along with Left parties will Wednesday hold a statewide agitation against the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, calling it “anti-constitutional, undemocratic and aimed at silencing dissent.”The decision to hold a two-phase agitation against the Bill was taken at a meeting convened by left wing parties on August 14 in Mumbai, attended by NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, state Congress president Harshavardhan Sapkal, Shetakari Kamgar Paksha’s Jayant Patil, CPI’s Dr. Bhalchandra Kango, CPM’s Dr. Ajit Navare, and CPI-ML’s Dr. Uday Bhat.During the meeting, it was decided that protests would be held on September 10 (Wednesday) and October 2, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, across all districts and talukas of the state.The protests mark the first coordinated street mobilisation against the Bill since its passage. Opposition leaders said the agitation will remain peaceful but warned that if the government refuses to withdraw the law, they will intensify protests during the upcoming winter session of the legislature.Demonstrations will be staged at public squares and in front of statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. Opposition leaders said peaceful gatherings will culminate in memoranda being submitted to local authorities, demanding that the law be scrapped.In a press release, the Congress alleged that the legislation was “designed to muzzle social movements and strengthen authoritarian structures,” and warned that it would be misused “to arrest party workers and ordinary citizens critical of the government through false cases and coercion.” The NCP (SP) described it as “a suppression law that erodes democratic freedoms and creates fear among activists and citizens.”The Special Public Security Bill, passed in both Houses of the state legislature in July this year despite stiff resistance, empowers the government to declare organisations unlawful, seize their assets and jail members for terms ranging from two to seven years.Story continues below this adThe offences are cognisable and non-bailable, and properties linked to banned organisations can be attached, subject to judicial review.Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who piloted the Bill, has defended it as essential to check “urban Naxal” activity and protect public order.The Bill received over 12,000 objections and suggestions when it was examined by a Joint Select Committee earlier this year, with nearly 9,500 calling for its withdrawal — one of the highest public responses in Maharashtra’s legislative history.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Maha Vikas AghadiMaharashtra