‘BJP created ghost Naxalism’

He was speaking at a gathering of members of civil society groups who have alleged that arrest of Sagar alias Shrinivas Venketachalia (35),working in an NGO here,for alleged Naxal link,was illegal.

They also alleged that the Crime Branch had illegally detained Amrit Vaghela,a social worker from Gomtipur here.

“In the 1960s some union leaders were arrested in the name of Naxalism,while in the 1980 the government had floated information that dacoits from Chambal have entered Gujarat,” Patel said.

“There is no Naxalism in Gujarat,it just a ghost created by the State Government as the argument of Islamic terrorism was no longer accepted.”

“This ghost has been created as all the encounters have turned out to be fake and are now haunting the police and the government,” Patel said.

On one hand Chief Minister Narendra Modi had been talking about vibrant Gujarat and development,and on the other hand his administration was talking about Naxalism making way into the state,Patel said.

Another social activist Hiren Gandhi said the government,in the name of Naxalism,was targeting those working for the poor,Dalits and the oppressed.

“Modi,when outside Gujarat,says the Naxal problem needs to be tackled with talks,and look what his government is doing in Gujarat,” Gandhi said.

Social activist Raju Solnaki said,”This is a conspiracy of the government to suppress voice of the Dalits and people working against communal forces.”

The civil society members demanded that the government should specify about the kind of conspiracy was hatched by those arrested in the state for alleged Naxal links.

Twelve persons have been arrested in Gujarat in the last couple of months on charges of links with the Maoists.