Shocked over the recent audacious Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh, political parties on Monday unanimously rejected the “pernicious Maoist doctrine” and endorsed a stronger, sustained and unified operation against them without any compromise. This line had found support from the chief ministers of the states affected by Maoist depredations during the CMs’ conference also. Now that there is a political consensus, it is time to translate the resolve into action on the ground. Joint operations by security forces of the different states and the Centre have been on for quite some time, but what has been missing is a total collaborative exercise where each of the Naxal-affected states becomes a stakeholder in any anti-Naxal programme anywhere.
Apart from training and equipping security forces with the latest weapons, the political resolve should not be allowed to weaken. The Centre and the states must ensure that unlike earlier occasions, when momentum was lost after similar brainstorming sessions, a co-ordinated attack against Maoists is stepped up. While it is crucial that intelligence on the movement of top Maoists must be strengthened by winning the confidence of tribals and village folk, the secrecy of co-ordinated operations must be protected. News suggesting a major operation will soon be launched in Chhattisgarh has been doing the rounds for days, in a typical reflection of poor secrecy. With the porous borders between states, it is not difficult for Maoist leaders to shift from a state where an operation is on way to comparatively safer hideouts in the jungles of a neighbouring state.
On test in the coming weeks would be the sincerity of state governments to work in unison. The unfortunate tendency of some states has been to pay lip service to co-ordination but to neither share intelligence nor come to the rescue of another state. While the Union home secretary has time and again ruled out an army operation, it would be foolhardy not to fall back on this if the co-ordination of police forces proves illusory.