Chidambaram calls meeting of three CMs on Naxal menace

After two Naxal attacks that killed 35 people in West Bengal and Bihar, a worried Home Minister P Chidambaram has convened a meeting of the chief ministers of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal,

Two weeks ago, Chidambaram had convened a similar meeting in Kolkata, but both Bihar and Jharkhand chief ministers had skipped the meeting. Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, however, attended the meeting, along with Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

At a recent meeting of all chief ministers with the prime minister in New Delhi, the Centre had said that all states were “on the same page” on the issue of internal security.

But, the West Bengal government thinks the Jharkhand government is not doing enough to tackle the Naxal menace. In his letter to the chief ministers, Chidambaram said, “You will appreciate that before tentative conclusions are translated into decisions and implemented, it is necessary to be assured that the governments of both West Bengal and Jharkhand fully endorse the plan.”

Early this week, West Bengal was hit by a severe Naxal attack at an Eastern Frontier Rifles camp in which 24 jawans were killed. Soon after that, Naxalites killed 11 villagers in Kodasi Phulwaria village of Bihar. In Jharkhand, the Naxalites kidnapped a block development officer and the government had to buckle under pressure by releasing two hardcore Naxalites from jail.

For this meeting, Chidambaram is giving priority over the availability of Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren in Delhi. In his letter to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Chidambaram said, "Your officers presented a case for inter-state operations on the Bihar-Jharkhand border. They also sought additional Central forces and other assistance for intra-state operations in Bihar. We have since examined these requests and reached certain tentative conclusions. You will kindly appreciate that before the tentative conclusions are translated into decisions and implemented, it is necessary to be assured that your government fully endorses the plan presented by the Home Secretary/DGP of Bihar.”