Budget fails to address Maoist menace: Raman Singh

Raipur, Feb 29 (IANS) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh flayed the union budget presented Friday, saying there was no provision for a joint action-plan to deal with the Maoist problem, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had identified as the biggest internal security threat. “The union government has failed to address the problem by making no provision to deal with the Maoist problem even as several states reel under the threat of the red army,” Singh, who heads one of the worst Maoist insurgency-hit states, told reporters.

But the state’s opposition Congress welcomed the budget, especially hailing the Rs.600-billion loan waiver announced for farmers.

“It has taken care of all sections of society but the farmers got the deserving benefits,” the party said.

“The loan waiver for farmers has reflected how Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are concerned about the problems of farmers,” Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi said in a statement.

The Chhattisgarh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) also appreciated the budget.

The CCCI in a statement said it “welcomes the budget proposals, mainly for focusing on health, education and irrigation sectors with allocation of increased funds, but infrastructure sector too should be taken care of with topmost priority”

Tata Steels Mining Licenece cancelled in Chattisgarh

courtesy Bhumkal Bastar Blog

Small victory for people trying to expose autocratic behaviour of the State Government of Chhattisagarh and Central Government of India in leasing out mines to Tata Steel by brushing aside all Environmental laws. The Delhi High Court has quashed the Centre’s decision to grant a prospecting licence to Tata Steel to mine iron ore in Chhattisgarh, saying that the company had not got the required environmental clearance.

“The impugned order dated February 14, 2007 issued by the Central Government and all the proceedings under Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act leading up to it are hereby quashed as being issued without jurisdiction and contrary to law,” Judge S Ravinder Bhatt said.

The court order was in response to a petition by the state-run mineral company NMDC Ltd, which sought the Centre’s approval to Tata Steel be cancelled.

The court said a clearance under the Forest Act was mandatory before allowing any non-forest activities in a forest area and this was not considered by the Centre while granting the licence.

“Whenever the state is asked to divert any forest land for a non-forest purpose, it has to, before taking other steps, seek prior approval under the Forest Act and rules,” the judge said, and noted that prior environmental clearance that was required under the Act was not there in the case of this project.

The Centre had, in February last year, approved the prospecting license for mining the ore over an area of 2,500 hectares in Dantewada area of Chhattisgarh for two years.

“Every steps towards non-forest activity in a forest, whether in the form of licence, permit, authorisation, can take place only after approval under Section 2 (of the Forest Act) is granted,” the judge said.

Centre to send 600 para military personnel to Jharkhand

NEW DELHI: Worsening Naxal situation has prompted a worried Centre to immediately send across 600 additional para military force personnel to Jharkhand.

It has also assured Chattisgarh more forces in the near future. The decision was arrived at two high-level meetings of senior officials of the two states with the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, in which he accepted Jharkhand’s request to provide additional 2600 strong para-military force on short term basis.

Of these 600 personnel will be sent at once. Patil, however, made clear that the assistance comes with the rider of state’s effort to fill police vacancies without wasting any more time and using para military forces for operational purposes only and not for normal law and order or static duties.

The Union Home Minister was briefed about the situation by the director general of police of both the states that together account for 70 per cent of Naxal violence in the country.

Though Chhattisgarh already has 13 battalions of para-military forces (about 13,000 personnel), the State Government feels that there is need for more to comb dense jungles bordering Orissa and Andhra Pradesh and to put brakes on Naxal violence in the Bijapur and Dantewada that have chosen to be made model districts in the fight against Naxalism.

Patil asked representatives of both the State Governments to strengthen their intelligence wings and ensure optimal and timely utilization of the funds granted under various central schemes.

He commended state police’s efforts for some successful anti-Naxalite operations carried out recently, and emphasized the need to follow a pro-active strategy in both the States

India’s intellectuals snubbed in Dr Sen case

RAIPUR: Within 10 days of India's top intellectuals, academicians, lawyers and retired bureaucrats issuing a strong demand for the release of activist and human rights advocate Dr Binayak Sen, charges were framed under the Indian Penal Code and other acts at the February 2 hearing of the fast track court at Raipur. Dr Sen is the national vice-president of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL). He has now been accused of providing logistical support to the banned CPI (Maoist).
Dr Sen has been languishing in jail since his arrest in May 2007. He has now been booked under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) 121A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable under Section 121 i.e. war against state) and 124-A (sedition) of the IPC as well as the relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activi ties Act, 2004 besides under Chhattisgarh Public Safety Act.
Activists had visited Chhattisgarh from 18–22 January 2008 to press for Dr Sen's case adn had met the Governor and state police chief, besides meeting Dr Sen himself in the central prison at Raipur. Some members of the group also visited areas in the districts of Bastar, Dantewada and Bijapur.
Among the activists who formed part of the delegation were Amit Bhaduri, Professor JNU, social activist Medha Patkar, Magsaysay Awardees Sandeep Pandey and Arvind Kejriwal, retired DU professor Uma Chakravarty (who has also done commendable work on 1984 pogroms), former Ambassador Madhu Bhaduri, DU’s Nivedita Menon, Panjab University’s Gopal Iyer and media activist Manish Sisodia.
The team collectively issued a statement saying: "The charges filed against Dr Sen under the IPC, CrPC and the Chhattisgarh Public Safety Act (CPSA) are unwarranted and unconstitutional. The CPSA enables the government to interpret the rendering of simple humanitarian acts as unlawful. The Act defines “unlawful activity” so broadly that every act of vigilant citizenship can be construed as unlawful and anti-national. Thus it is clear that Dr Sen is being targeted in his capacity as General Secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Chhattishgarh. The reports produced by the PUCL have highlighted the anti-constitutional violence legitimized by the state through the Salwa Judum campaign."
Campaign to free Dr Sen has caught up in India though it makes little news in Punjab or among the Punjabi Diaspora. This is in pattern with the functioning of many humna rights bodies which fail to come to each other's aid because of lack of understanding, man power, resources and the machinations of the Indian state.
Dr Sen's arrest and the latest developments make it clear that the government is eliminating the possibility of a strong civil society that can act like a middle ground between Naxalites and the government. Dr Sen represents a voice that is critical of the anti-people policies of the government. Incidentally, the Indian Social Science Congress at its annual convention held in Mumbai in December 2007, had felicitated Dr Sen with a citation honouring him as a committed Gandhian.

‘Salwa Judum’ a people’s initiative to combat naxal menace: Chhattisgarh

New Delhi: The Chhattisgarh government on Monday justified in the Supreme Court the constitution of ‘Salwa Judum’ (self-defence groups) saying, “It is not State sponsored but a people’s initiative to combat the menace of naxalites.”

“The State is committed to resolve the problem of naxalism and any peaceful movement, which resists the violent methods, definitely gets support of States.

The ‘Salwa judum’ was started as a non-political peaceful movement to resist the activities of naxalites in the form of killings, kidnappings, plunder and bunks,” the government said.

A Bench, consisting of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices Tarun Chatterjee and R.V. Raveendran, was hearing a petition filed by Nandini Sundar, Ramachandra Guha and E.A.S. Sarma.

The petitioners alleged that in the guise of countering naxal movement, the ‘Salwa Judum’ was indulging in killings and committing atrocities against the tribals of the State.

The Bench adjourned the hearing to the February last week to enable the petitioners to file their response to the State’s counter and rejoinder by the State.

Appearing for the petitioners, senior counsel Ashok Desai submitted that over 50,000 persons were kept in camps in villages, and pleaded for appointment of a committee to visit these camps and report about their plight.

Appearing for the State, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi said Chhattisgarh was the most affected State due to the naxalite menace.

“The naxalities are torching police stations and are posing a biggest challenge.

The internal security of the nation was involved and the petitioners were trying to eulogise naxalism and naxalite activities,” he said and sought the dismissal of the petition.
‘Houses torched’

The petitioners said the ‘Salwa Judum’ was launched to combat naxalites but in reality these activists conducted frequent raids on villages and attacked and killed suspected naxalite sympathisers; torched their houses and looted livestock.

They had sought a direction to the Chhattisgarh government to refrain from supporting, associating, encouraging or promoting in any manner the activities of the ‘Salwa Judum’ and to order an impartial enquiry to go into the atrocities committed by the group.

Plot against Chhattisgarh politicians unearthed

How come before Republic day ?
AP

Raipur: The arrest of two senior female Maoist guerrillas has helped the police in Chhattisgarh to unearth a plot aimed at killing political leaders in the state, police sources said Wednesday.

The authorities have drawn the conclusion following the seizure of documents and maps from a Maoist hideout in the state capital.

A police source told IANS that a map of Raipur city, with red colour markings, and of several politicians' houses, including that of Chief Minister Raman Singh, indicated that they were intended to be targets of the Maoists.

The police found Maoist literature at the Raipur house.

"The raid has stunned us. We found a diary and notes with names and details of dozens of so-called intellectuals... We never thought that the Maoists had such wide contacts in Raipur and other cities," the source said.

The two women were among four people arrested Tuesday and have been identified as Malti Usendi and Meena.

This followed the busting of a hideout in Raipur's Dangania area Monday night where the police took in their possession 91 home made pistols and 26 foreign-made wireless sets. These had been stored in eight bags.

The source said that the women's arrests had exposed the Maoist urban contacts in Raipur and the nearby city of Bhilai as well as other urban pockets.

The arrested women were allegedly acting as Maoist couriers and receiving arms coming in from various locations and passing them on to insurgents, said a police official who did not want to be named.

Malti, 28, is the wife of Gudsa Usendi, spokesman of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). Meena, also 28, is a zonal-level Maoist leader.

Police also arrested Raipur-based Prafulla Jha, 60, who was described as a freelance journalist, and his son-in-law Vinod Chandrakar for their alleged links to the seized arms.

Gudsa Usendi issues statements on behalf of the outfit's Dandkaranya Special Zonal Committee, which runs a de facto parallel government in the vast forested, mineral-rich interior areas of Bastar.

Maoists hail Dantewada jailbreak

HYDERABAD: Maoists have termed as ‘heroic’ the recent jailbreak in Dantewada of Chhattisgarh and vowed to help prisoners in other jails to escape as they were “unjustly held captive.”

In a statement here on Saturday, the CPI (Maoist) central committee said the cadres, who escaped from the Dantewada prison after seizing the weapons from the jail armoury, had demonstrated that the “oppressed” people could defeat the “conspiracies” of the “reactionary” ruling classes and the might of the Indian State.

The statement signed by the central committee spokesman Azad said the jailbreak had only proved the “uselessness” of the security systems like the CCTVs. It said the Dantewada incident showed the “path of freedom” to lakhs of prisoners incarcerated in ‘sub-human’ conditions without trial or after being “unjustly convicted.”