New Delhi, April 09: Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday he took “full responsibility” for the brutal massacre of 76 security personnel in a Maoist ambush.
Tuesday’s attack, the Maoists’ bloodiest strike against India’s security forces, has tarnished the image of Chidambaram, who was drafted into the key ministry in 2008 to improve internal security.
“I have no hesitation in saying this: the buck stops at my desk,” Chidambaram told an annual function of the Central Reserve Police Force, whose members were killed in the ambush in the central state of Chhattisgarh.
“I accept full responsibility for what happened,” he said after paying tribute to the dead officers.
India’s Maoist insurgency began in the state of West Bengal in 1967 and has since spread to 20 of the country’s 28 states.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has labelled the insurgency India’s biggest internal security threat, but little is known about the movement’s leadership or cadre strength, variously estimated at between 10,000 and 20,000.
Chidambaram has previously said the government needs to tackle the root causes of the insurgency and has offered talks with the rebels — on condition they renounce violence beforehand.
–AFP