BHUBANESWAR: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday assured that two Central schemes - the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Maoist affected districts and Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF) - are in the process of revival.
Singh, who reviewed the security situation in Odisha at a high level meeting at the Secretariat here, said there has been a progressive improvement in the situation particularly on the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) front.
“We have assured the State Government of maximum Central assistance to achieve success in the LWE front,” Singh said after the meeting which was attended by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and senior officials. There has been a perceptible change in the situation and four Maoists were killed in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh during the last two days, he said.
The Home Minister, however, said there is no place for violence in a healthy democracy. “I appeal to the LWE cadres to shun violence completely and join the nation’s mainstream,” Singh said and added that the Centre is ready for talks with them if they do so. “They should also contribute to make India vibrant and self-dependent,” he said.
Referring to the issue of delay in release of drought assistance raised in the meeting by the Chief Minister, Singh said he has discussed the issue with the Union Home Secretary and the amount of assistance finalised at the high level meeting at New Delhi would be provided in the supplementary budget.
Stating that the number of people from Odisha in Maoist cadre has gone down because of the proactive steps taken by the State Government, the Chief Minister demanded deployment of two more battalions of Central para-military forces on the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.
The Chief Minister said the districts in Odisha coming under the Maoist corridor from Jharkhand to Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh should be announced as Naxalite affected areas by the Centre. Other issues raised by the Odisha government included more funds for completion of Gurupriya bridge in Malkangiri district to improve communication facilities, completion of Sileru bridge in Andhra Pradesh and improvement in telephone and bank services in Maoist affected areas.
Naveen also demanded early release of assistance for the areas affected by cyclone Phailin which struck Odisha in December, 2013 and last year’s drought.
‘Shun Violence, Hold Talks’
Koraput: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday reiterated the Government’s stand on Maoists and appealed to them to give up arms and join the mainstream for building a developed nation. During his one-day visit to the BSF camp in Koraput, Singh said crores of rupees that the Centre is spending on anti-Maoist operations in different States could have been used for socio-economic development of people if Maoists gave up violence. He said the Central Government is providing all necessary help demanded by the Odisha Government to continue anti-Maoist operation in the State.