Red,unready

In doing what West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee hasnt bothered to do for two years paying a visit to Lalgarh Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram killed at least a couple of birds with the same stone. He iterated a number of times that the buck stops with Bhattacharjee,thereby reminding the CM of his primary responsibility. But he also resolved the Centres dilemma over how far to go: let there be no doubt that law and order is a state subject,he seemed to say. The Centre can assist,but the restoration and maintenance of peace is the states duty. Failure will rest on the CMs shoulder. Given Bengals demonstrably broken state machinery,witnessed as recently as February during the Silda EFR camp massacre,that warning and clarification must be paid heed to,especially since,coupled with Maoist violence,Bengal is one of the worst cases of routine,and bloody,political violence.

The Left Fronts history of subverting the state machinery led to its studied bungling on Maoists political and operational. Since Operation Green Hunt calls for disparate jurisdictions to work together,there can be no passengers. Chidambaram implied as much in pointing out the difference in success levels in Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh-Andhra on the one hand and Jharkhand-Orissa-Bengal on the other. That necessitates political coordination to facilitate the tactical coordination. The Bengal government had begun with the wrong words and no action. And after a little activity,it appears to be hitting the doldrums.

In interacting with the villagers,Chidambaram brought to light how the poverty-stricken people of Maoist-affected areas lack,and desire,development. And apparently,the locals know the difference between the government and the insurgents,and who can actually help them. Asking the villagers to resist the Maoists may be one thing,and villagers gathering the courage to do so in the face of gun-toting rebels another,but it underlies the states recognition of the fact that hounded villagers are not necessarily Maoists or sympathisers. That sort of PR is needed to secure ground-level cooperation in the anti-Naxal operation. Those like the Bengal government that still send mixed signals on Maoists,should take note of the likelihood of Maoists regrouping and revising their strategy. Vigilance and action cannot falter now in an operation that has begun to taste success. That success needs everybody on board to be consistent and comprehensive. No half measures,no half-heartedness.