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HomeIndia2.5 yrs in office but CM Baghel yet to frame 'anti-Naxal' policy,...

2.5 yrs in office but CM Baghel yet to frame ‘anti-Naxal’ policy, BJP says he is clueless

In its 2018 election manifesto, Congress said if voted to power in Chhattisgarh, it will frame a policy to resolve Naxal menace. Now it claims it is not getting Modi govt's support.

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Raipur: In its manifesto for the 2018 Chhattisgarh assembly election, the Congress party had said: “If voted to power Congress government in Chhattisgarh will strive to frame a policy for resolving Naxal menace and make serious efforts to start dialogues to find a peaceful solution to it.”

But two and a half years later, the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government which came to power in the state in December 2018, has failed to take steps towards framing a policy and finding a peaceful solution to the Naxal violence.

The state government, however, claims it is not getting the Centre’s support to formulate an anti-Naxal policy but it will still initiate a new dialogue process in this direction.

“Framing anti-Naxal policy in Chhattisgarh is a technical subject. It’s difficult to be carved without support from the Union government, but so far the state has not received much help from the latter. The Centre has not been very encouraging on anti-Naxal policy in the state. Whenever state representatives and chief minister met either the Union home minister or other officials in Delhi, they were not willing to have a dialogue on the policy suggested by us,” said Rajesh Tiwari, advisor to Chief Minister Baghel.

Tiwari also said that efforts to counter the Naxal menace have already started via developmental works and government schemes launched for tribals in Bastar area to strengthen their economic condition. This includes bringing more minor forest produce (MFP) under Minimum Support Price (MSP). Women self-help groups have been tasked with the collection of MFP and processing units are also being set up.

“Efforts are on to release prisoners framed under false charges as Naxals, while chief minister himself initiated talks with Naxal victims, surrendered Maoists and other stakeholders before the pandemic,” Tiwari added.

Meanwhile, Ruchir Garg, chief minister’s media advisor, said the government will fulfill its promises despite the delay caused due to the pandemic.

“Policy framing is a comprehensive process. It has to be done not only in consultation with the Centre but also in view of prevailing Maoism in neighbouring states. Almost every state bordering Chhattisgarh on its southern, western and eastern flanks is having Naxal problems. As to the dialogue process, the chief minister has made it amply clear that the government will engage with Maoists only when they give up guns and violence,” Garg added.

ThePrint reached state home minister Tamradhwaj Sahu via phone and messages for a comment but did not receive a response until the time of publishing this report.

However, a senior home department official, who did not wish to be named, said: “So far formulation of Naxal policy in the state remains dormant. There has been no call given on record either by the (state home) minister or chief minister’s office. It’s difficult to say what will happen tomorrow but every guideline coming from the (state home) minister or CM will be followed in letter and spirit by the department.”


Also read: 3 new security camps in Bastar — Chhattisgarh’s ‘master plan to shrink’ Naxal stronghold


‘Congress in a fix’

Even as the Baghel government blamed the Centre, the Opposition said the Congress doesn’t know how to deal with the Naxal issue, and that the promises made by the party in its election manifesto were only to grab power.

O.P. Choudhary, former IAS officer and BJP state secretary said the Naxal problem in the state is not only a socio-economic issue but also a law and order problem “which the Congress government realised only after Maoists started killing security personnel and incidents like April 3 ambush happened, resulting in the death of 22 security men in south Bastar.”

“The Bhupesh government has no clarity on how to deal with Naxal problems in the state. They tried to be Maoist sympathisers initially after coming to power in 2018 and never accepted it as a law and order problem. They did this to please Maoists and earn brownie points from them thinking that the latter were unhappy with the 15-year rule of the BJP,” he said.

“They are highly confused and do not intend to find any solution despite keeping it as a part of their electoral promises,” Choudhary added.

The BJP leader also said the “Congress party prepared its 2018 manifesto including all that was asked by their frontal organisations only to grab power and today they are in a fix on how to deal with the Maoists. They tried to make people believe that Congress will do wonders if voted to power and now it does not want to touch the issues.”

Dharamlal Kaushik, leader of the opposition in the state assembly, said: “Congress government has not done anything concrete that can be taken as a step forward to formulate Naxal policy in Chhattisgarh as they promised to the people. They have not even spoken to the Centre on the issue let alone seeking its support. What they are saying is a face-saving move by them.”


Also read: ‘Knocked door down, will enter drawing room now’ — Police & tribal leaders clash over anti-Naxal camp


 

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