Lucknow, May 19: Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Tuesday blamed the Raman Singh government for the second bloodbath in Dantewada in as many months.
Digvijay said the Chhattisgarh chief minister was “ solely responsible” for the enhanced Naxalite activities in the state.
“ Chhattisgarh has failed to implement the policies of the central government. The money sent by the Centre for the development of the area has not reached the targeted group.
The state has done nothing for growth in the Naxal- infested areas,” he said.
Digvijay said while the BJP government of Chhattisgarh has failed to tackle the Maoist menace, the Congress- ruled Andhra Pradesh was doing well.
“ Naxal attacks are taking place in Chhattisgarh. Why doesn’t it happen in Andhra Pradesh?” he asked.
The Congress leader also suggested that the Centre must work towards bringing the Maoists into the mainstream of the political system.
“ The government should study their ( Maoists’) demands. It would help solve their problems and unnecessary violence can be stopped if we include them in the political system,” he said.
But the Congress leader seemed set to kick up another storm on Tuesday when he differed with Union home minister P. Chidambaram on the use of “ air support” against Maoists.
In an interview to a news channel, the home minister supported the idea of providing air support to help security forces hunting for the insurgents in the forested areas.
“ There should be a provision for air surveillance,” Chidambaram said, indicating that the government was set to review its anti- Maoist policy and examine the feasibility of using choppers for combing thickly forested areas where the rebels hold sway. But he did not elaborate if “ air support” meant air strikes as well.
But Digvijay seemed to take it thus, and said on Tuesday: “ Use of air force is quite impossible in the dense forest. How can they differentiate between the villagers and the Naxalites?” He spoke in Ahraura, Mirzapur, on Tuesday where had gone to attend a party rally.
Digvijay’s fresh salvo assumes significance because Chidambaram said in New Delhi that he was trying to convince the Centre for this.
“ The security forces and the CMs of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Orissa want air support… They are the men on the ground,” Chidambaram said.
Digvijay appears already at work to justify his stand. There were reports that he had called the CRPF special director general Vijay Raman in Raipur soon after Monday’s Maoist attack on a bus and sought details why so many civilians were killed.
—Agencies