After the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh which led to the death of Congress leaders, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress now find themselves on the same page, with their demand for a citizen group outfit like Salwa Judum to tackle Naxalism. However, in Raipur, the Congress kept away from the all party meeting called by chief minister Raman Singh to protest government’s failure to provide adequate security to slain leaders.
Making its intention clear that there is a need for Salwa Judum, the BJP on Thursday said that it was important to support these groups but within the legal framework. ‘In principle we agree with the Supreme Court that an uneducated person should not be handed a gun, but strategy wise we have to support it either today or tomorrow,’ said BJP general secretary JP Nadda. The BJP found support on the issue from minister of rural development Jairam Ramesh who was of the opinion that there are many misconceptions regarding Salwa Judum.
However, there are differing voices within the Congress party over the need for such an outfit. Tribal leader and Congress spokesperson Bakhta Charan Das distanced the party from Salwa Judum, saying that the outfit was never Congress party’s idea, despite its founder Mahendra Karma being a Congress leader.
In 2011, Supreme Court had ordered the disarming of Salwa Judum as it had declared the deployment of tribal youths as Special Police Officers illegal and unconstitutional in the fight against the Maoist insurgency.
The difference within the Congress party is not only restricted to Salwa Judum on Thursday, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who finally returned from his US trip said that he does not agree with the opinion that Naxalites should be called terrorists. Recently, the rural development minister had said that Maoists extort money from government contracts and anybody who spreads terror, is a terrorist.
Making its intention clear that there is a need for Salwa Judum, the BJP on Thursday said that it was important to support these groups but within the legal framework. ‘In principle we agree with the Supreme Court that an uneducated person should not be handed a gun, but strategy wise we have to support it either today or tomorrow,’ said BJP general secretary JP Nadda. The BJP found support on the issue from minister of rural development Jairam Ramesh who was of the opinion that there are many misconceptions regarding Salwa Judum.
However, there are differing voices within the Congress party over the need for such an outfit. Tribal leader and Congress spokesperson Bakhta Charan Das distanced the party from Salwa Judum, saying that the outfit was never Congress party’s idea, despite its founder Mahendra Karma being a Congress leader.
In 2011, Supreme Court had ordered the disarming of Salwa Judum as it had declared the deployment of tribal youths as Special Police Officers illegal and unconstitutional in the fight against the Maoist insurgency.
The difference within the Congress party is not only restricted to Salwa Judum on Thursday, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who finally returned from his US trip said that he does not agree with the opinion that Naxalites should be called terrorists. Recently, the rural development minister had said that Maoists extort money from government contracts and anybody who spreads terror, is a terrorist.