Fight poverty to end Naxalism: NHRC chief

National Human Rights Commission NHRC chairperson Justice retd S Rajendra Babu on Wednesday said if the Government wants to control the growth....

National Human Rights Commission NHRC chairperson Justice retd S Rajendra Babu on Wednesday said if the Government wants to control the growth of Naxalism in the country it will have to change its policy regarding the poor and the landless. The growth of Naxalism can be attributed to poverty,forcible uprooting of small farmers from their lands for big projects,shortage of food,and absence of infrastructure in some corners of the country. If the Government takes care of these issues,growth of Naxalism can be checked. Look at what Raman Singh has done in Chhattisgarh. His government is providing cheap foodgrains to the poor,even free at some places. And,it is working, he told The Indian Express.

He also pointed out that though there is no paucity of funds and programmes for poverty alleviation and uplift of the downtrodden,the implementation is shoddy.

The former Chief Justice of India will demit office on May 31 after a term of two years and two months.

Asked about the growing instances of human rights violations in the country,Babu said there was growing awareness among the people about their rights. Uttar Pradesh,Bihar and Delhi have very a poor record when it comes to protection of human rights. The police personnel in these states still want to rule with their dandas sticks. One reason could be that there is too much political interference in appointment of SHOs.

To a question about the NHRC inquiry into the Batla House shoot-out,he said the Commission will go by the court verdict. He,however,acknowledged that there was need for an independent inquiry into the incident.

To a question about the demand for more powers to the NHRC and the state human rights commissions,he said,Under the Constitution,there are three clearly demarcated functions for the three main pillars legislature,executive and the judiciary. Where is the space for commissions like this? I cant pretend to be a court or a legislators. My job is to see that the Government ensures that the rights of the citizens are protected and not violated, he added.

Asked if the Commission needed more powers to ensure that its orders are not merely recommendatory and are implemented by the state governments,Justice Babu said,In 99 per cent cases,our orders are implemented. In case our orders are not implemented,we have the option of going public. In the case of Nandigram,the West Bengal Government refused to accept our recommendation with regard to compensation in lieu of damage to property,etc. We went public. And,the price that they Governments pay can be huge.

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Talking about the criticism that the NHRC didnt play a proactive role to check the riots in Gujarat,Babu said,What could we have done? We couldn8217;t have dismissed the government. Our person gave his report after talking to the riot victims in camps and elsewhere. We have made our recommendation. We are acting on it.