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Journalism of Courage
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said that the government will start consultations on framing a uniform hostage policy. He said,I have advised Home Ministry officials to have consultations with states on a uniform hostage policy.
His comments came in the backdrop of the release of abducted Sukma Collector Alex Paul Menon in Chhattisgarh and BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka in Orissa. In both the cases,the release was possible after mediation with the Maoists.
While replying to a short notice question in the Rajya Sabha,Chidambaram justified the policy of mediation for freeing hostages saying,We must take a practical view of having mediation and negotiations… Mediation is a part of every government. The Home Minister cited the example of Israel,Even Israel does it,as it released 1,000 prisoners to get one Israeli soldier.
Referring to the release of Sukma Collector,he said that the Chhattisgarh government had appointed mediators and considered it practical to do so. At the same time,he said,One should know where and how to draw the line.
Chidambaram said the Centre has been playing a crucial role in helping states resolve hostage crisis as it was a shared responsibility.
My view has been,my view is,and my view will be that dealing with militancy,insurgency and extremism is a shared responsibility, he said.
BJPs Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Javadekar said that there should be no swap deal in hostage situations and quoted Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh as saying that if he (Raman) was taken hostage,there should be no swap deal.
