LUCKNOW/ RAIPUR: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday claimed the menace of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) would be wiped out from the country within three years. He pointed out that districts affected by Maoist violence have come down to 10-12 as compared to 126 some time back.
Addressing Rapid Action Force (RAF) troops on their 26th anniversary celebrations in Lucknow, Singh advised them to be rapid but not reckless. He claimed LWE would be eliminated in one-two or three years. “This would happen due to your (CRPF) determination, courage and hard work and that of the state police forces.” The RAF is part of the CRPF.
But does his optimism tally with the situation on the ground? In Chhattisgarh, the government had earlier announced its plan to free the conflict-ridden Bastar and other areas from Maoist stranglehold by 2022. “Yes, we are going ahead with the plan. The CM has set the deadline of 2022,” the Special DG (anti-Maoist operation) D M Awasthi told TNIE. Rajnath Singh though seemingly advanced the timeline.
The Congress had a different take. “On October 5, BJP president Amit Shah complimented Chief Minister Raman Singh for freeing the state from Maoist menace. Now Rajnath Singh comes up with a new deadline. The BJP internally needs clarity,” pointed out Shailesh Nitin Trivedi, chairman of the Congress Media Cell in Chhattisgarh.
However, a guerilla warfare expert saw logic in Singh’s claim. “Maoists are now facing leadership problems as they don’t have second rung leaders. With local pressure on them mounting, their recruitment is going down drastically. They are also not able to get outside support as well. So, the Union home minister was going by the ground reality,” said Brigadier (retired) B K Ponwar, Director, counter terrorism and jungle warfare college, based in Kanker, north Bastar.
131 killed this year
Congratulating the forces, Rajnath Singh said they had killed 131 Maoists and militants, arrested 1,278 and effected 58 surrenders this year alone