The Hindu : Front Page : Ban on Maoists extended by another year

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 12, 2006

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Ban on Maoists extended by another year

Special Correspondent

It was outlawed on August 17 last year following the killing of C. Narsi Reddy, Makthal MLA

HYDERABAD: The Cabinet on Friday decided to extend the ban on the naxalite outfit, Communist Party of India (Maoist), and six of its frontal organisations by another year till August 16, 2007.

The six frontal organisations are Radical Youth League, Rythu Coolie Sangham, Radical Students' Union, Singareni Karmika Samakhya, Viplava Karmika Samakhya and All-India Revolutionary Students' Federation. However, the Viplava Rachaithala Sangham (Virasam) continues to be exempt from the ban.

The Congress Government had banned the CPI (Maoist), its organs and the Virasam on August 17 last year in the wake of the killing of Makthal MLA C. Narsi Reddy in Narayanpet town of Mahabubnagar. The Virasam was given the exemption after a few months by a screening committee of the Government that examined an appeal against the banning of the organisation.

The outfit was first banned on June 21, 1992, by the then N. Janardhan Reddy Government under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1907. It was operating in the name of People's War Group at that time.

Law enacted

As the legislation was no longer in operation, the Government enacted the Andhra Pradesh Public Security Act solely for the purpose of outlawing the PWG. The ban was relaxed in June 1995 by the N.T. Rama Rao Government. Though the relaxation was only for three months, the People's War continued to function in that status until June 21, 1996, when the ban was re-imposed by former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The Government allowed the ban to lapse on June 21, 2004, to pave the way for peace talks.

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