Raipur/Ranchi, Sep 25 (Inditop.com) Home Minister P. Chidambaram Friday said the central government would extend all support to states to counter and defeat leftwing extremism in what would be a “long-drawn” fight and ruled out the involvement of the army in anti-Maoist operations.
On a whirlwind tour of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to review the internal security situation and the preparedness of police forces, Chidambaram said the central government would go the extra mile to support the two affected states in their efforts to counter the armed rebels.
“It is a long-drawn fight against Naxals (Maoists). The centre is totally supporting Chhattisgarh in its efforts to counter leftwing extremism,” he told reporters at Raipur’s state secretariat on his first stop where he reviewed the internal security situation in the wake of police and paramilitary forces mounting an onslaught against the Maoist rebels.
He said his visit to Chhattisgarh was to assure the centre’s support in the state’s fight against the Maoists and to offer his condolences for the policemen who had laid down their lives while fighting the Maoists.
Referring to the July 12 incident in which 29 police personnel, including Superintendent of Police V.K. Choubey, were killed in a Maoist ambush at Madanwara in Rajnandgaon district, he said the state government had taken prompt action to provide relief to the families of the killed security personnel.
Meanwhile, official sources said the government of Chhattisgarh – India’s worst Maoist-hit state – had sought more forces and resources from the centre so that simultaneous operations could be carried out in the state’s sprawling, mineral-rich Bastar region where the rebels have held sway since the late 1980s.
Shifting tack in its fight against left-wing extremism, India has drawn up a multi-pronged strategy that will target top leaders, win people through a propaganda war and offer cadres a surrender-and-rehabilitation policy while launching an extensive armed operation in Maoist strongholds across the country.
The strategy that also involves delinking development imperatives from an armed crackdown has gained urgency with a grand offensive to be launched to secure the Maoist belts and provide governance there, said top home ministry sources.
In Raipur, Chidambaram made an unscheduled visit with Chief Minister Raman Singh to the homes here of two policemen killed by Maoists – Choubey and constable Sanjay Yadav.
He drove first to Choubey’s home and met Ranjana Choubey, widow of the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, and other family members, then he travelled to Tikrapara area and met Lalita Yadav, widow of Sanjay Yadav. After a few hours stay in Chhattisgarh, Chidambaram left for Ranchi by a BSF plane.
“It’s a great feeling that (the) union home minister consoled us. He basically told me that the government is entirely with you,” Ranjana Choubey told reporters outside her residence.
In Ranchi, the home minister maintained there was no proposal to involve the army in anti-Maoist operations. This was in reply to a query on his recent remarks that special forces might be pressed to help states fight the rebels.
“Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have become the epicentre of Maoist activities. We are monitoring the situation and all support is being extended to the two states to contain the Maoist problem. Some parts of Orissa are also affected,” the home minister said.
“There is no place for the armed liberation theory in the country. We reject the Maoist arms liberation struggle,” he added.
Chidambaram also urged human rights activists to condemn atrocities perpetrated by the Maoist rebels.
Chidambaram reviewed the security scenario, operations against Maoist rebels and development in the state and held meetings with Governor K. Sankaranarayanan, three advisors of the governor and senior government officials.
