Lay down arms or face war, P Chidambaram tells Maoists

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Signalling a tough mood in government in the wake of Red ultras beheading Jharkhand cop Francis Induwar, home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday delivered an ultimatum to Maoists that they would face the might of the security forces unless they gave up armed struggle.

Speaking in Mumbai, the minister did not mince words as he said, "As long as the CPI (Maoists) believes in armed liberation struggle, we have no option but to ask our security forces to engage them…we will arrest them, we will apprehend them." Keen to indicate its resolve, the Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday is likely to clear an air force request to be allowed to return fire during anti-naxal operations.

The public revulsion over the killing of Francis Induwar and the reactions of the officer’s bereaved family have given the government an opportunity to argue that Maoists were cold-blooded killers and not "people’s warriors" looking to settle scores with an oppressive state. Wanting to ride a mood that favours action against the Red ultras, the government is preparing the ground for an all-out operation.

Chidambaram said the IAF will take counter-measures necessary to protect their choppers and pilots. In last month’s major anti-naxal operation in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada, a chopper that had been deployed to airlift injured and dead personnel had come under fire. Though no damage was reported, it highlighted the risk being run by chopper crews in densely forested areas which are Red zones.

The change in government’s approach which has seen it launch a hard-hitting campaign showing how ordinary, poor persons were often victims of Naxal violence rather than the "class enemy" the extremists spoke of, is quite a shift from when UPA-1 took office. At the time, the government was more prepared to go by the "grassroots" viewpoint that disenchantment with the state was leading to Maoist violence.

The experience of waiting for Andhra Pradesh naxals to come to the negotiating table proved counter-productive. Not only did they recoup, they were successful in relaying mines and coordinating with groups in other states. Now, the view that the development argument will not get off the ground unless Red zones are "liberated" is finding greater resonance even as officials agree that government needed to address the needs of people urgently.

Chidambaram took note of the need to push development in areas inhabited by tribals and small farmers who have often been ruthlessly exploited by local officials, traders and contractors. "Developmental issues, issues of neglect, deprivation, corruption and government structure can be discussed. We can bring the very development they claim to be fighting for," he said. While he did not categorise the anti-Naxal campaign as "war" saying the government would not wage war on its own people, he clearly said the theory of armed struggle was unacceptable.

Officials also point out that stepped up operations against Naxals, expected to get underway after assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana, could hardly be delayed any further. Not only had Naxals consolidated their hold in their base areas, they were now clearly marking a presence in states like Uttrakhand and looking to form cells in cities where they looked to infiltrate labour conflicts. After the Dantewada operation, it was even likely that the ultras could strike in areas outside their zones to boost morale and keep central forces on the backfoot.

Security agencies — paramilitary forces and state police — are now fully geared up to fight Maoists. A plan to deploy nearly 70,000 paramilitary personnel — drawn from CRPF, ITBP, BSF, SSB and CoBRA — has been chalked out for the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

"Although the operations against the ultras continue in these states, it will be stepped up once polls in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh are over. Nearly 25,000 of the central forces will be spared by the end of the month, giving us more manpower for operations," said a senior home ministry official.

The plan is to confront ultras simultaneously in all states through joint operations with a focus on two tri-junctions like Bihar-West Bengal-Orissa and Chhattisgarh-Orissa-Andhra Pradesh so that the Maoists do not slip over from one state to other.

The intended operations will be different from earlier ones as the security forces will look to stay on in areas cleared of Naxals till the civil administration fully takes over. As forces have been doing in Lalgarh (West Bengal) since June, they will fight the ultras and remain in naxal-affected zones until local police takes charge.

Even for the poll duties — guarding polling stations, poll materials and poll personnel — in Maharashtra, the Centre has deployed those 4,000 personnel in three affected districts — Gadchiroli, Gondia and Chandrapur — who are well trained in anti-naxal operations.

"They have been asked not only to do area domination before the polls but also to conduct operations on the basis of local intelligence before and after the election on October 13. Huge deployment will give them space to engage the forces in operations even during the polls, if needed," said the official.

As many as 18,000 of the total 25,000 paramilitary personnel on poll duties are being deployed in Maharashtra alone with 4,000 being placed in three naxal-affected districts there.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lay-down-arms-or-face-war-PC-tells-Maoists/articleshow/5099683.cms

India’s genocidal war against the Adivasis & Dalits soon

NEW DELHI: The Centre has worked out a blueprint on launching a major assault against red terror in the trijunction of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa from next month.

The brutal killing of Jharkhand police officer Francis Induwar by Left-wing extremists has only steeled the Centre’s resolve.

“The government has no option but to engage Maoists and arrest them as Naxal violence has increased over the past 10-12 years. As long as Naxalites do not abjure violence the security forces will confront them, engage them,” home minister P Chidambaram said at a press conference in Mumbai.

“Let me tell them that their scheme will not succeed,” he said condemning Induwar’s murder. As many as 30 battalions of central forces — 30,000 security personnel — will be involved in the massive offensive planned by the UPA government.

The Centre is very clear that the role of the Indian Air Force will be restricted to reconnaissance, rescue and evacuation as well as movement of troops. The meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to be held on Thursday is unlikely to give its approval to the Indian Air Force’s proposal to shoot back at Naxals in self-defence.

Defence minister A K Antony said the government preferred to see involvement of the armed forces in internal security operations as the last option. He said Naxalite operations were an internal law and security matter and it was the duty of state governments to handle them. “And I will support the state governments. Already we are engaging armed forces in many areas for internal security like in northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. Actually, we want to minimise these kind of armed forces operations for internal security. Using Armed Forces for internal security is the last resort. we cannot adopt this every now and then," the defence minister said.

Conveying the Centre’s tough stand against left-wing extremism a day after Induwar’s beheaded body was found, Mr Chidambaram said the Maoists would have to give up arms before coming to the negotiating table.

“We are a civilised country… we do not wage war against our own people. Maoists must abjure violence and take the path of democracy and dialogue,” he said.

He said Governments of states afflicted by Left-wing extremism have been asked to discuss development issues, neglect and deprivation if the Maoists relinquish arms.

“Unless violence stops, no development is possible… Violence is simply unacceptable in a democracy and republic. No government which has taken oath under constitution can accept an armed liberation struggle,” the home minister said.

Trying to drive home the point that the government and the Maoists were both working for the poor, he said surrendering arms was a must as the government and the Maoists could claim to represent the same group of people.

At the same time, the home minister refused to term the action against Left-wing extremists as war saying it was the Naxalites who believed in violence and used words like war and war preparation. “We do not treat it as war,” he said. The home minister also said that there was no evidence of Naxalites getting foreign funds. “They are able to raise money inside the country. But they also loot banks, kidnap and extort,” he said.

He said Induwar’s murder proved that they killed in “cold blood”.

STRICT ACTION

The govt has no option but to engage the Maoists and arrest them as Naxal violence has increased in 10-12 years
The brutal killing of Jharkhand cop Francis Induwar by Leftwing extremists has only steeled the Centre’s resolve. ET

Massive agitation for land soon, says Laha Gopal

Sadhujana Vimochana Samyuktha Vedi president Laha Gopalan addressing the Chengara agitators on the occupied land

PATHANAMTHITTA: Sadhujana Vimochana Samyuktha Vedi president Laha Gopalan has said that a massive land agitation will be launched in the State soon, taking a cue from the Chengara land stir. Gopalan, who was accorded a warm reception on his arrival on the occupied land at Chengara on Tuesday, said that the biggest-ever land agitation would be witnessed in the State in the near future.

After Dalit leader Ayyankali, the situation has come to the stage to lead the landless people under him, Laha Gopalan said.The agreement to call off the Chengara agitation will be an occasion for the inauguration of another land agitation, Gopalan said.

All the Dalits, who own less than 25 cents of land, Scheduled Castes and Dalit Christians will join the new agitation for land in the State, he said.The landless Dalits and other poor families will encroach upon the land of big land owners and plantation companies, he said.He said that he was forced to accept the formula worked out by the Government with the support of the UDF to end the strike. Had he not accepted the formula, his life would have been in danger, Gopalan said.He could not return to Chengara without a solution to end the agitation owing to the tensed situation there, he said.

Gopalan alleged that the CPM had infiltrated into the occupied land at Chengara and created a rift among the agitators.The situation reached the stage where the CPM called the shots at Chengara, he said.On the agreement, he said that the agitators would leave the occupied area only after they were allotted the promised land. IE