Telangana Declares 16 Organisations Unlawful; HRF Calls it Throttle of Dissent
The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has condemned the Telangana government’s decision to declare 16 organisations as unlawful under the Telangana Public Security Act. The Telangana government issued a government order (G.O.) on March 30 declaring 16 organisations posing as fronts for the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and stating that they are encouraging/aiding persons to commit acts of violence and intimidation.
The G.O. declares Telangana Praja Front, Telangana Asanghatitha Karmika Samkhya (TAKS), Telangana Vidyarthi Vedika, Democratic Students Organization Telangana Vidyarthi Sangham, Adivasi Students union, Committee for Release of Political Prisoners, Telangana Raithanga Samithi, Tudum Debba, Praja Kala Mandali, Telangana Democratic Front, Forum Against Hindu Fascism Offensive, Civil Liberties Committee, Amarula Bandhu Mithrula Sangham, Chaitanya Mahila Sangham and Revolutionary Writers Association as unlawful associations.
It states that the activists of these organisations are adopting urban guerrilla tactics and using different covers as per their strategy and tactics document to wage war against the state. The order states that the members of these organisations meet with maoist leaders in forests of Chhattisgarh and under their aegis organize protests demanding release of Dr Varavara Rao, GN Saibaba, Rona Wilson and others arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, protests against Citizenship Amendment Act, farm laws and so on. It states that the “objectives” of these organizations are interference with public administration, upsetting law and orders thereby constituting danger to public peace.
The HRF states that declaring these organisations as unlawful “has the effect of whittling away basic liberties and does enormous damage to the very notion of democracy”.
“What it seeks to make unlawful is not violence – which has been proscribed ever since the birth of the State in history – but politics and social activism that is not palatable to the ruling dispensation. Such an approach impinges upon fundamental freedoms and is unacceptable in a democracy,” HRF has said.
The government order may be read here:
Courtesy: Sabrang India
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