Maharashtra Assembly passes bill to curb ‘left-wing extremism’

The Maharashtra Assembly on Thursday passed the Special Public Security Bill, aimed at preventing unlawful activities by left-wing extremist groups, PTI reported.

The bill was cleared by a voice vote following a debate that saw Opposition parties express concern about its broad language, particularly the definition of the term “urban Naxal”.

The term “urban Naxals” was first used by Union ministers and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party after several activists and academics were arrested in the Elgar Parishad case in 2018. Since then, the term has often been used to describe some dissidents of the Narendra Modi government.