The Buck Stops With You: Chidambaram Tells CM On Naxal Issue

Putting the onus on West Bengal government to deal effectively with Naxal menace,Home Minister P Chidambaram  on Sunday  said he has told Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee that the bucks stops with him and that talks can be held with Left-wing extremists if they abjure violence. 

On his first visit to the heart of Maoist territory in West Midnapore district, Chidambaram also ruled out military action against the naxals saying state police and paramilitary forces alone will be deployed to fight them.  

"I told him (Bhattacharjee) the buck stops with you and he must ensure that the buck stops with the SP or the officer in-charge," the minister told reporters here on his meeting with Bhattacharjee, who holds the Home (Police) portfolio, at Writers' Building in Kolkata Saturday  night. 

"If the buck does not stop, it is a failure of the administrative machinery," Chidamabaram said.  Referring to the violence involving Left and Trinamool activists, the minister said he had told the chief minister that he wanted inter-party clashes to end.  Terming Naxals as "cowards" who are hiding in the forests, he slammed them for using a tribal group as a front organisation. The Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) has called a 24-hour bandh in West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura districts in protest against the Home Minister's visit to the area. 

"Naxals are cowards. Why are they hiding in forests? We have invited them for talks (but) after they abjure violence. If they really want development, if they really want to solve problems of the people, they are welcome to talk. 

"I have said we can talk about anything in the world. (They should) just give up violence," he said after an hour-long meeting with top police and administrative officials here.  Asked whether Centre was planning military operations against the Naxals, Chidamabaram, who is here to review the anti-Maoist drive, said, "No, we are not contemplating military action against Naxals and state police, state armed police and paramilitary forces alone will be deployed to fight the Naxals." 

Expressing concern over the "direct or indirect" support to Naxals by PCPA, he said if they have a genuine problem, he was willing to lend his "good offices" for ensuring talks between them and the state government. He said he has appealed to the villagers not to support the Maoists, which they were doing out of fear. 

Chidambaram, who flew in here by a helicopter from Kolkata, described as "mixed" the outcome of the joint anti- Maoist operations saying that certain "weaknesses" need to be rectified. 

Chidambaram said that the anti-Naxal drive was a long-drawn affair in West Bengal and other states including Orissa and Jharkhand and it could take two to three years to defeat the extremists. "There are no instant answers," he said. Chidambaram, who was on two-day visit to West Bengal, asserted that the anti-Maoist operations would continue. "Will withdrawing the joint forces help? It is a long-drawn process and will take two to three years to complete. You have to be patient." 

"Atrocities or not, that can be discussed. But supporting Naxals is a grave mistake and disservice they are committing," the Home Minister said. At the same time, he said the villagers have the reason to be agitated since there was lack of facilities relating to education, healthcare, rations and power. 

Referring to a media report claiming that top Maoist leader Kishenji was hale and hearty, the Home Minister said, "The police have told me that they don't buy the story that Kishenji has given the interview. The police, of course, can do more and find out." Referring to PCPA, he said their jailed leader Chhatradar Mahato and his brother Asit Mahato "are doing a great disservice to the people by supporting the Naxals". Chidambaram advised all political party leaders to visit Lalgarh and talk to villagers. 

About dealing with the Maoist menace, he said, "It is a mixed record for West Bengal and the situation should improve. "There have been some gains and some weaknesses in Bengal. The situation in Orissa and Jharkhand will take time and it is a problem," he said. The situation, however, has improved significantly at Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and in parts of Andhra Pradesh, he said. Security was tight in Lalgarh, 135 kms from Kolkata, and surrounding areas with gun-toting para-military force personnel visible on rooftops. 

Nearly 3,500 policemen have been deployed in the area, which was wrested from the Maoists by the joint forces on June 20 last year. Shops remained closed and a few that did open were immediately ordered to down shutters by security forces. 

The 45 km Midnapore-Lalgarh road, particularly at Khadutola, once a stronghold of the Maoists, was guarded by para-military personnel in the midst of the bandh called by PCPA. The Maoists had yesterday triggered a landmine explosion at Choto Brindabonpur village. PTI