The Centre has warned civil society groups, non-governmental organisations, intellectuals and the general public to refrain from supporting the CPI(Maoist) ideology as it will attract action under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
“It has come to the notice of the government that some Maoist leaders have been directly contacting certain NGOs and intellectuals to propagate their ideology and persuade them to take steps as would provide support to the CPI (Maoist) ideology,” the Home Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
It warned that under Section 39 of the Act, “any person who commits the offence of supporting such a terrorist organisation with inter alia intention to further the activities of such groups would be liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or with fine or with both.”
Asking the public not to become a victim of the CPI(Maoist) propaganda, the statement said: “The Communist Party of India (Maoist) and all its formations and front organisations are terrorist organisations whose sole aim is armed overthrow of the Indian state and they have no place in India's parliamentary democracy.”
The Maoists continued to kill innocent civilians and destroy crucial infrastructure l to prevent development from reaching underdeveloped areas, the Ministry said.
