DPM to move High Court against ban

Berhampur, June 10 (UNI) The Daman Pratirodh Manch(DPM), a pro-Naxal organisation, today threatened to move the Orissa High Court against the ban imposed on it by the state government yesterday.

DPM state convener Dandapani Mohanty described the Orissa cabinet's decision to ban the organisation as highly 'undemocratic' and threatened to move the court against the 'anti-people' and 'autocratic step' of the Naveen Patnaik government.

The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, decided to ban the CPI(Maoist) and seven of its frontal organisations, including the DPM, under the provision of the Criminal Amendment Act, 1908, stating that their activities were a threat to law and order in the state.

Mr Mohanty claimed that the DPM has been involved in peoples movement since the last 3 years in a more democratic way and had never preached violence.

The DPM, he said, had no links with the CPI(Maoist) or extremists in the state, rather it was involved in serving the poor and downtrodden who were being exploited. '' Banning the Manch was nothing but a conspiracy to scuttle and suppress the democratic rights of the people,'' Mr Mohanty added.

It may be recalled the DPM had organised a massive pro-naxalite rally here last month which was allegedly attended by pro-naxalite activists. The organisation had also organised a huge rally last year in the state capital which attended by several top leaders having links with the naxalite movement, the police said.

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