Chidambaram says sorry to Kandhamal victims

In one of the worst spate of communal violence in recent times,about 40 people,belonging mainly to the Christian community,had been killed by right-wing extremists in August and September last year following the murder of religious leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati,allegedly by Naxalites. Churches were damaged and Christians were forced to flee from the villages.

Chidambaram tried to assure some of those victims,staying in CRPF-guarded relief camps for the last nine-ten months that it was now safe for them to return to their villages and lead a normal life. “I am here to tell you that you have absolutely nothing to fear. The Government will ensure that no one harms you anymore. It is absolutely safe for you to return to your villages. You have every right to practice your religion,build and pray in churches. You please return to your villages. I want to come back within one month and would like to see you in your homes in your villages,” he said.

The state Government estimated that about 4,600 families — nearly 23,000 people — had been displaced by the communal disturbance. About 2,000 remain in relief camps while the rest had returned to their villages. A former Congress MLA from the area,Jayanti Pradhan,however,claimed that thousands of people had been forced to leave the district permanently.

Chidambaram instructed the local officials to make arrangements for the return of all people in the relief camps in the next two-four days. Later,addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar after meeting Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik,the Home Minister held the police responsible for failing to prevent attacks on the minority community. “Whatever happened in Kandhamal last year is deeply regrettable and condemnable. Largely,it happened because of the failure of state police which did not do enough for 30-40 days. But now things are improving,” he said.

The situation in Kandhamal has been complicated by the Naxalites,who are said to have aligned themselves with the Christian community,considering them as the oppressed class. This,in turn,has intensified the communal rift between the Christians and Hindus who have not forgiven the Naxalites for the murder of Swami Laxmanananda.

Chidambaram said the Naxalite problem had been allowed to go out of hand by successive governments by their inadequate responses. “We have neglected the problem for the last 10 years. Now I have offered my hand to look for a solution. But it is going to be a long haul. The state governments are still preparing themselves to fully meet the challenge posed by left-wing extremism. Once they are fully prepared,we will be ready to go all out against them,” he said.