National

Red Blimp In Bastar

CM Digvijay needs political will to counter ultra-left insurgency

Advertisement

Red Blimp In Bastar
info_icon

A red star has risen over Bastar. And everytime it twinkles it wreaks death, destruction and mayhem. The murder of state transport minister Likhiram Kawre last December had been the first big strike in recent years by Naxalites of the People’s War Group (PWG) in Madhya Pradesh. The initial sense of alarm that had gripped the state administration gave way to the usual lackadaisical ways of the police force and a maladroit political system pretty quickly. The result was the loss of 23 policemen in a landmine blast near Narayanpur in Bastar last fortnight. Among those killed were an additional SP and three surrendered PWG members.

Advertisement

Amid all this, however, there is a question that begs an answer: why has there been a sudden spurt in the killings by the PWG? One possible explanation is the killing of three senior PWG leaders in a supposedly fake encounter in the jungles of Andhra Pradesh after they were picked up in Bangalore by an MP police team.

So, is this the beginning of an Andhra and Bihar-like situation in the state? The PWG cadres began moving into Bastar after they felt the heat in Andhra, almost one-and-a-half decades ago. But it’s only over the past few years that this tribal belt of MP has become a hotbed of Naxalite activity.

Advertisement

Initially, the PWG activists in this area limited themselves to terrorising petty forest and revenue officials and building a support base among exploited tribals. But the new turn that their political practice seems to have taken of late seem to be a forewarning of bigger things to come.

dig (intelligence) Surendra Singh, however, doesn’t completely agree: "It cannot be called a sudden spurt. It’s just that over the last year these have been the only two instances." He claims that the police is being more careful now. Incidentally, the landmine which was actually an improvised explosive device (IED) had been planted on that particular stretch of road at least three months ago.

But the fact that the policemen were travelling in a single vehicle to a spot where they hoped to nab insurgents in a landmine-infested district is a pointer to the ill-preparedness and lack of basic training in the MP police today. DGP S.C. Tripathi, a decorated officer who has headed central agencies before, is yet to come to terms with the Naxal problem.

Says chief secretary K.S. Sharma: "We have a training programme in which policemen are posted to Naxalite-affected districts but I am not satisfied with it so I have asked the DGP to chalk out a plan to train and retrain our personnel to meet the war-like situation there." Sharma has already prepared a plan to effectively utilise the Rs 5-crore special assistance received from the Centre to combat Naxalism.

Advertisement

But no plan can be effective if there is a lack of political will. Chief minister Digvijay Singh does not exude much confidence when he says: "I am considering banning the PWG."

The cabinet has already passed a special area security bill to empower the government to issue a notification to ban, in specific areas, organisations like the PWG for indulging in illegal and terrorist activities.

In a cabinet meeting chaired by the CM last week, it was decided to send this Madhya Pradesh Vishesh Kshetra Suraksha Vidheyak, 2000, for the Centre’s approval.

The CM, however, knows that banning may not be an answer and may actually complicate the situation further by blocking all possibilities of peaceful negotiations. Till now his policy of granting amnesty to insurgents who wanted to surrender had worked well. But most senior officers now believe that it’s time to rethink.

Advertisement

That, however, seems to be an unlikely possibility. There have been clear indications in the past of a PWG-politician nexus. Most politicians in the Bastar and Balaghat regions have had links with Naxalite dalams which have helped them win elections and in return have received patronage. The opposition has even alleged that Kawre was eliminated because he was not falling in line with the exorbitant demands of dalam members. Digvijay’s colleagues also showed their dubious side by refusing to say anything against the Naxalites even while condoling Kawre’s death.

Chickens, it seems, have come home to roost and long time friends have become class enemies who need to be sacrificed, for revolution perhaps.

Advertisement

Tags

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement