The Narendra Modi government is faced with a renewal of Maoist atrocities. Maoists stepped up their violence in Chhattisgarh, killing six policemen in two separate attacks in Bastar. Two days earlier, they had shot seven Special Task Force (STF) men in Sukma. The Maoists also blew up an anti-landmine vehicle carrying heavy explosives which has not been used in the state in recent years. Twelve people were inside the vehicle when it was attacked. A rescue team rushed to the spot and took the injured to a nearby hospital.
The Opposition in the state is gunning for the ruling BJP government. The State Congress President Bhupesh Baghel has demanded Chief Minister Raman Singh’s resignation. He has said that the BJP government does not provide security to citizens and has no right to govern. Police sources have said that most of the Maoist attacks took place under their Tactical Counter- Offensive campaign, usually between February and June in favourable climatic conditions. The latest attack took place on the densely forested Palnar-Kirandul Road which had no police presence earlier. For the first time the state police are setting up a post at Chaulnar. It is obvious that the state Congress is unnecessarily trying to politicize the gruesome incidents. The Manmohan Singh government had acknowledged that the Maoists threatened national security and had to be fought on a national basis overriding party dissensions. The Modi government should take a similar attitude to the menace and so should the Opposition. The elimination of the Maoist menace in West Bengal by Mamata Banerjee’s government can serve as a guideline.
