New Delhi, May 18: The Congress trained its guns on Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh soon after Monday’s Naxalite attack. The party indicated the buck should stop with him, not Union home minister P. Chidambaram.
In the wake of Monday’s attack, the Congress adopted a nuanced stand just short of calling for the resignation of the CM. But sources said law and order is a state subject and “ Raman Singh completely failed on this front”. They also alleged that the state government failed to take any meaningful action and learn from its mistakes after the Maoist- perpetrated April 6 bloodbath which killed 75 Central Reserve Police Force ( CRPF) personnel and a state police officer.
Reacting to the latest attack, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said: “ It is absolutely reprehensible. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Targeting civilians reflects both the frustration of the Maoists and their sheer barbarity as an organisation.” After the April 6 attack, Chidambaram had suo moto accepted moral responsibility and offered to resign, much to the chagrin of the Congress.
The Opposition had launched a scathing attack on the Centre when the April 6 massacre was taken up in the Lok Sabha a fortnight ago, but had exonerated the state government.
But last month, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh had given a glimpse of the way the wind was blowing in the Congress when he wrote in a newspaper article: “ As far as law and order is concerned, the buck stops with the chief minister, not with the home minister.” He added: “ The Centre provides central forces at the request of the state government and their deployment is the responsibility of the state government. In this incident ( April 6 carnage), where was the state police? I believe it was represented only by a head constable.” “ Why is the home minister taking flak when it is the chief minister who should be answering the questions?” Comparing the Congress- ruled Andhra Pradesh’s success in containing the menace with developmental works, party sources said much of Chhattisgarh’s problem was the lack of development. “ One can’t tackle the Naxalites with only Salwa Judum,” an AICC leader said.
—Agencies