Well begun in ’06,Nitish’s Naxal policy went off track

This criticism is likely to get severe with Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s scheduled mid-September launch of election campaign from Lakhisarai. Rebel JD(U) MP Lalan Singh,who is expected to share dais with Sonia,would only make matters worse for the Bihar CM.

However,senior police officers,who served in the Maoist-hit districts for long and played significant roles in framing the anti-Naxal policy,told The Indian Express that Nitish had started very well in 2006 with having a surrender policy for Naxals and attempting to take governance to red belts by launching the development scheme of “aapki sarkar aapke dwar” from Sikaria in Jehanabad.

“After imprisonment and speedy trials of over two dozen ultras between 2006 and mid-2007,there was a definite desperation in Maoists ranks. To the government’s advantage,it was a big shift from the 2005 Jehanabad jail-break,” said a top police officer.

However,after that things started deteriorating,with development schemes not extending much beyond symbolism. “It was a chilling truth that political parties,not even the ruling NDA,were not interested in opening their offices in the red belts. The government only tried to reach out with mid-day meals and uniform schemes,with government presence still being minimal in these areas,” added the officer.

The state Home Department also did not approve the police headquarters’ proposal for speedy trial of Jehanabad jailbreak mastermind Ajay Kanu.

By the end of 2007,there was complete soft-pedalling of the Maoist issue. “From the jail-break to ultras being desperate to get bails to now Lakhisarai,Naxals seem to have sized up the government. With elections approaching,the state government cannot afford to have a surge in Maoist belts because that would mean lesser number of voters turning up at booths,” said an IG-rank official who served in Naxal-hit Magadh range.