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All-party meet for united fight
The all-party meet convened by the Raman Singh government on Thursday agreed on the need to have a concerted effort to counter the Maoist threat, and called upon the Centre to come out with an action plan.
The all-party meet convened by the Raman Singh government on Thursday agreed on the need to have a concerted effort to counter the Maoist threat, and called upon the Centre to come out with an action plan.
“The government has received various suggestions and soon, short-term and long-term action plans would be worked out for areas hit by Maoist violence,” Singh said after the meeting, which was attended by the CPI, CPM, NCP and the BSP. “We would ensure that such incidents do not get repeated.”
The state Congress — which had taken on the BJP government on the security front after the May 25 Maoist strike that wiped off a chunk of its leadership — had boycotted the meet.
Singh said the Maoists felt threatened due to the increasing political activity in Bastar as they do not wish to see the “roots of democracy getting strengthened”. “We will continue with the development of the Bastar region and the Maoists will be eliminated from the area.”
The Darbha police, meanwhile, registered an FIR against over 100 Maoists, 60 of them women.
Anti-Maoist operation heat to scorch Bengal
Kolkata: The joint forces have started a massive anti-Maoist operation following the May 25 massacre in Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal is to be part of the battleground.
“Our forces are on the hunt. The operation is likely to be centered in Chhattisgarh, but will spread out to other states including Bengal,” said Nankiram Kanwar, home minister, Chhattisgarh.
The districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia had been Maoist hotbeds for long. And now, with the heat increasing in Chhattisgarh and the relatively slack security in Bengal owing to the upcoming panchayat polls, the rebels are expected to move in again.
