The Maharashtra Congress is under fire from its central leadership for failing to oppose the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, during its passage in the state assembly last week. State party chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, acting on directives from the All India Congress Committee (AICC), sent a letter to Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Monday, demanding an explanation for the party’s silence when the contentious bill was passed on July 10, sources revealed Thursday.

The bill, aimed at curbing “urban Naxalism” and Left-wing extremist organizations, includes stringent provisions like fines and up to seven years’ imprisonment, drawing sharp criticism from civil society and opposition parties for potentially stifling dissent. Despite AICC’s clear instructions during a June 30 meeting with Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala to oppose the bill, only the lone CPI(M) MLA, Vinod Nikole, registered dissent in the assembly. Congress MLAs, including Wadettiwar, who was absent attending a cooperative bank election in Chandrapur, failed to protest or submit a dissent note, sources said.

Notes with talking points were circulated to Congress MLAs before the vote, but the party’s absence of opposition sparked internal backlash. The following day, Congress MLCs staged a walkout in the Legislative Council, protesting the bill after strict orders to avoid repeating the assembly’s lapse. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav also slammed the bill as “harsher than British-era laws,” criticizing the Mahayuti government for lacking evidence to justify it.

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The Congress high command’s demand for accountability underscores tensions within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, with leaders like Wadettiwar, Nana Patole, and Satej Patil, who were on the bill’s joint select committee, now under scrutiny for their roles.

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