Maharastra Newsletter
Protest against Special Public Security Bill
Prasad Subramaniam
ON June 30, 2025, the Anti-Public Security Bill Struggle Committee held a massive protest dharna at Azad Maidan, Mumbai, attended by thousands of people hailing from various districts of Maharashtra. They were demanding the immediate repeal of the BJP-led state government's draconian Special Public Security Bill. This mass action was deliberately held on the first day of the state assembly session, which is expected to discuss the Bill.
Under a broad-based action committee, Left parties like the CPI(M), CPI, PWP, and CPI(ML-L), along with the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), NCP (Sharad Pawar), Congress, and many progressive social organisations joined the dharna in large numbers, as they prepared to unitedly fight this anti-people, authoritarian and communal BJP-led government.
It may be recalled that two months earlier, on April 22, the Left Parties in Maharashtra – CPI(M), CPI, PWP, CPI(ML), and LNP – had mobilised over 50,000 people across the state to condemn and demand the immediate withdrawal of the Special Public Security Bill. Of these, 35,930 people were mobilised by the CPI(M) in several tehsils of 21 districts of the state.
The June 30 Mumbai action was addressed by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve, NCP leaders Supriya Sule, MP and Jayant Patil, CPI(M) MLA Vinod Nikole, NCP MLAs Rohit Pawar and Jitendra Awhad, Shiv Sena MLAs including Aditya Thackeray, CPI(M)'s Shailendra Kamble and S K Rege, PWP's Jayant Patil and Raju Korde, CPI’s Dr Bhalchandra Kango, Subhash Lande, and Prakash Reddy, Congress' Bhausaheb Aasabe and Dhananjay Shinde, Samajwadi Party's Rahul Gaikwad and Meraj Siddiqui, and others. They harshly criticised the government's unconstitutional policies and strongly opposed the proposed Bill. The dharna was welcomed by Ulka Mahajan while Shailendra Kamble presided over it.
The thousands who were present resolved to take the battle against this Bill to the streets across the state and to collectively fight the BJP-led government's unconstitutional policies.
CPI(M) Holds Statewide Whole-Timers Camp
Ajit Nawale
THE CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee held a state-wide whole-timers camp on June 14-15, 2025 at the Adarsh Vidyalaya in Mumbai in the hall named after departed former state secretariat member Comrade Lahanu Kom, ex-MP and ex-MLA. The class was attended by 214 comrades from 27 districts. Of them, 34 were women.
This was the third statewide whole-timers camp being held in Maharashtra. The first was in 2011 at Mumbai, and the second was in 2017 at Solapur.
This camp began with the flag hoisting by 86-year-old veteran leader P M Vartak and floral tributes to martyrs. State secretary and Central Committee member Ajit Nawale placed the objectives of the camp. The condolence resolution was placed by state secretariat member S K Rege. The camp covered the topics such as – current political challenges; the idea of Maharashtra; revolutionary tasks of party whole-timers; socialism is the; Party's perspective on the women's question; and the mass line and future tasks.
The Marathi edition of Brinda Karat's book "An Education for Rita" translated by state secretariat member Prachi Hatiwlekar and published by the Left Publishing House Janshakti Granth Prakashan, was released by Ashok Dhawale. 110 copies of the book were sold on the spot. Over Rs 22,000 worth of progressive literature was sold in the camp.
A brief meeting of the CPI(M) state committee was held, and it took some important decisions, which were reported to the camp by Ajit Nawale. Some main decisions were: a concerted campaign to make the July 9 All India Strike a great success; a joint Left rally in Mumbai on the first day of the state assembly session on June 30 to condemn the draconian Special Public Safety Bill that is being pushed by the BJP-led state government; observe June 26 as 50th anniversary of the Emergency and also the birth anniversary of the great social reformer Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj which falls on the same day, through various programmes; a state camp for selected Party branch secretaries in July; and full preparations for the statewide local body elections in urban and rural areas which will be belatedly held.
Central Committee member Vinod Nikole, MLA, in his speech concluding the camp, announced on behalf of the Thane-Palghar district Party that the trade union front of the district would contribute Rs one lakh per year to the Party state committee for the whole-timers fund, and handed over a cheque for the current year.
State secretariat member and Mumbai secretary Shailendra Kamble proposed the vote of thanks. The CPI(M) Mumbai committee and the Adarsh Vidyalaya management, led by K R Raghu as president and K Pavithran as secretary, had made excellent arrangements for the class, and all the leaders and activists were warmly felicitated.
Marathi Biography of Karl Marx Released
Vijay Patil
LAST month, a Marathi biography titled "Epoch Maker Karl Marx: Life, Work and Thought" which was earlier serialised in People’s Democracy/Loklahar, and has been translated by senior Party activist Prof Shobha Theckedath, was released at a programme in the heart of Mumbai by the Left Publishing House Janshakti Granth Prakashan.
Among those who released the book were translator Prof Shobha Theckedath, Uday Ranadive, who is the son of renowned CPI(M) and CITU leader B T Ranadive, Janshakti Granth Prakashan president Ashok Dhawale, director Uday Narkar, and managing editor Vijay Patil.
Prominent among the wide spectrum that attended the function were Anand Teltumbde, former Bhima Koregaon detenu and celebrated author of the reflective biography of Dr B R Ambedkar called "Iconoclast", Bhalchandra Mungekar, ex-MP, intellectual and former vice chancellor of Mumbai University, Husain Dalwai, ex-MP, director Vijay Kenkre and others.
Immediately after the book release, the 'Pratyay' group from Kolhapur presented a two-hour two-act play in Marathi called "Marx in Soho". Originally written in English by the American socialist historian Howard Zinn, it has been brought into Marathi by Sahil Kalloli and directed by eminent actor-director Dr Sharad Bhuthadia. The powerful and sensitive play on the life and work of Karl Marx held the audience in rapt attention.
A Janshakti Granth Prakashan book stall put up at the venue had a brisk sale of over Rs 25,000, which included the new book on Marx and also earlier titles of the publishing house.
AIDWA Social Justice Jathas
Prachi Hatiwlekar
TO combat the communal poison spread by the BJP-RSS, the AIDWA CEC initiated an important campaign to organise “Jathas for Social Justice” at the village/taluka/district levels from April 14, birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. In Maharashtra, such jathas were held at 85 places in 18 tehsils in 10 districts. They together mobilised over 10,000 women.
The main state jatha began in Mumbai in front of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s residence, despite the police refusing it permission. It was inaugurated and addressed by Dr Ambedkar’s granddaughter and social activist Ramatai Ambedkar. AIDWA national general secretary Mariam Dhawale and Marxist-Ambedkarite thinker and writer Anand Teltumbde were the main speakers.
The state’s Vidarbha region Jatha began at Nagpur from ‘Deeksha Bhumi’ where Dr Ambedkar had converted from Hinduism to Buddhism with lakhs of followers in October 1956. Nagpur, Wardha and Amravati districts participated in it. It was inaugurated by a 92-year-old veteran freedom fighter and social activist Leelatai Chitale.
The Maharashtra AIDWA has published a booklet depicting the work of progressive social reformers and exposing the Sangh Parivar’s Sanatani culture and Manuwadi casteism and patriarchy. It was published in the Mumbai Jatha and 20,000 copies were distributed.
These jathas were carried out in various vehicles, cars, pick-up vans, jeeps, auto rickshaws and two wheelers. Only-women jathas in vehicles decorated with banners, flags and garlands attracted attention from the onlookers everywhere. In Mumbai, police seized the vehicle and tried to stop the vehicle rally. Still women were able to take it out successfully. Everywhere, all the fraternal organisations helped in all ways. The Thane-Palghar Jatha was a real all-women one as the vehicle drivers/riders were also women.
The AIDWA in Maharashtra also collected over 1.5 lakh signatures against price rise and for demands regarding the PDS, to submit to the state governor.
