February
16, 2008 Maoist Violence Not
Biggest Security Challenge: Patil
New Delhi
A day after 14 people were killed by Maoist rebels in a major
offensive in Orissa, Home Minister Shivraj Patil Saturday denied
that leftwing extremism was the single biggest security challenge to
the country.
"I don't think it (Maoist violence) so. Now, don't ask me to comment
on my colleagues or what the prime minister said. You asked me for
my opinion and I will give you my opinion," Patil told CNN-IBN's
"Devil's Advocate" in an interview.
Patil's statement flies in the face of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh's repeated assertions in many forums that Maoists posed the
single biggest security challenge to India and even exhorted chief
ministers at a recent conference to cripple their rebellion with all
means at their command.
"Not a day passes without an incident of leftwing extremism taking
place somewhere or the other. There also seems to be a consolidation
of various groups with better coordination and strike capabilities,"
Manmohan Singh told chief ministers at a conclave on internal
security in December last year.
"I have said in the past that leftwing extremism is the single
biggest security challenge to the Indian state. It continues to be
so, and we cannot rest in peace till we have eliminated this virus,"
he said.
Fourteen people were killed and at least five injured after Maoists
launched major offensives at Nayagarh and Daspatalla in Orissa on
Friday night.
During the interview, Patil said there had been an overall
improvement in states affected by Left extremism except for
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa.
"Let us not create a fear psychosis. We are here to understand the
problem and find a solution," he said.
Referring to the surge in violence in both Chhattisgarh, the
epicentre of Maoist violence, and Jharkhand, Patil said the
non-availability of infrastructure and the terrain were factors
responsible for the increased attacks.
"We (union government) are doing whatever possible to help states
affected by this violence. Almost 37,000 policemen have been
detailed by the centre and deployed in Naxalite (Maoist) affected
states. In Chhattisgarh alone, we have provided 17,000 men," said
Patil.
Patil also revealed that the government wanted to make
constitutional changes to give itself special powers to handle
Maoist violence, but the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party as well
as other parties refused to accept such amendments.
Although the number of violent incidents blamed on the Maoists fell
from 1,509 in 2006 to 1,285 until Oct 31, 2007, the number of
security personnel killed by them rose from 157 last year to 188
until the end of October 2007.
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