Opinion Back to blame-game in Chhattisgarh
Among all states confronting the rebels,Chhattisgarh leadership has probably been the most inefficient and indifferent.
A banned outfit,which is termed terrorist by the state,calls its two biggest parties politically bankrupt. It takes absolute responsibility for the deadliest ever assault on a political convoy and asks the parties to stop the conspiracy charade they play for electoral gains.
It clears the air over the attack and,ironically,tells these parties to focus on elections and leave the violence business to its cadres. And how do the parties respond to this? The two seniormost political functionaries in the state the Congresss Leader of Opposition and BJPs Chief Minister simply play back the allegations they had leveled after the attack.
They tell their voters,as they did earlier,that the latest Maoist statement was masterminded by the other party to deflect attention from the conspiracy it had hatched with the rebels for the attack. They accuse the other of forging an electoral alliance with the Maoists and demand a probe into the statement. Congress is sitting over the NIA probe,BJP tells voters,to conceal its leaders involvement in the attack.
Thats the polity of Chhattisgarh,the state most affected and,at vast stretches,completely dominated by the Maoists. Rhetoric and conspiracies are the lone tools of this polity to counter insurgency. Among all states confronting the rebels,Chhattisgarh leadership has probably been the most inefficient and indifferent.
The Indian Express recently asked a senior BJP minister how many times the cabinet,except in the immediate aftermath of a major attack,in the last 10 years discussed Maoists or a counter strategy? He smiled,simply.
Maoists have never been a part of any electoral manifesto or campaign; no party has ever promised peace to its citizens. BJP thrives on freebies here. Free rice,sandals,free tourist schemes for youths and old,it even promised a free cow that gives 12 litre milk daily but not freedom from fear.
What this polity overlooks is that by raking these inane charges,they obfuscate the problem and demoralise their police officers who fight the ground battle. Maoists,consequently,gain moral and strategic superiority. Citizens are not caught,as is usually believed,in crossfire between security forces and Maoists. They are sandwiched between their own politicians.
Ashutosh is a special correspondent based in Raipur ashutosh.bhardwaj@expressindia.com
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