In the wake of May 25 ambush on the Congress leaders’ motorcade in Sukma, there’s a tangible hardening of stance in the Centre’s policy to deal with Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh and in the entire Left-extremism dominated ‘Red Corridor’ overlapping five States.
Abandoning the earlier stand of looking at the issue as a “socio-economic problem,” the Centre is preparing a blueprint to be presented at the chief ministers’ meeting on June 5 which focuses on enhanced security cover for vulnerable politicians, coordinated action in the overlapping Maoist insurgency-affected areas and, most importantly, specific action plan to go after the Maoist “military strategists and guerilla warfare experts.”
No more talks or offer of political engagement. Waking up to the crisis after the near annihilation of its State leadership in Chhattisgarh, indications are that the Congress leadership is pressing the Government to go after the “perpetrators of the May 25 attack.” It’s worried that the Maoists may come in the way of its election campaign and booth management just not in Chhattisgarh, but in other Maoist-affected States in general elections as well.
The Home Ministry, it seems, has been asked to acquire surveillance equipment that would help them go after the insurgent formations in the affected zone.
The hardening of the stance was best seen through Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh changing statements, in which equated the Maoists with “terrorists” and the Congress following and categorising them as a subversive forces inimical to the tribal population.
However, the politics over the killings of two key Chhattisgarh Congress leaders, Nanda Kumar Patel and Mahendra Karma, just before the elections, may still come in the way of a united Centre-State strategy.
While the Centre has asked Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh to encourage political rallies in the State by assuring foolproof security to the leaders, the Congress State leadership, busy flinging charges at the State administration, may come in the way of a joint action. Sources said it was the Centre’s direction to Raman Singh to call an all-party meeting on Thursday, which surprisingly the Congress Legislature Party in Chhattisgarh has decided to boycott. Reason: The agenda of the meeting has not been shared with them.
Both the AICC in-charge of Chhattisgarh B K Hariprasad and Congress spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das, taking a political line, targeted the Raman Singh Government. “What is the point of an all-party meeting now, why did the CM not call the meeting earlier? If the security measures had been taken prior to the massacre, we would not have lost our leaders and workers.”