Ban on 16 ‘unlawful organisations’ lifted

HYDERABAD: The Telangana government revoked the order declaring 16 organisations as unlawful associations for a period of one year from March 30, 2021. A gazette notification released on June 23, stated, “The Government of Telangana hereby revokes the notification declaring the 16 new front organisations of the proscribed CPI (Maoist) as unlawful associations. The Director-General of Police (DGP), Telangana, shall take necessary further action accordingly.”

Earlier, the State government, in a GO, had stated that the activists of these organisations are moving in urban areas by adapting urban guerilla tactics and taking different covers, to wage war against the State. They have also been regularly in touch with the Maoist leadership in Chhattisgarh, it added.

On the instructions from the Maoist outfit, they have been organising protests, demanding the release of the persons arrested in the Bhima Koregaon violence case and the repeal of CAA, NRC, farm laws and the UAPA, the order added. Their objectives interfere with the public administration and the maintenance of law and order, creating danger to public peace, thereby necessitating the declaration of these 16 organisations as unlawful associations, the GO stated. 

In June, members of these organisations moved to the Telangana High Court challenging the GO. The court issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the DGP to file counters on the petition and adjourned the case to a date after four weeks.