Chidambaram faces flak over Chhattisgarh firing

The Congress party is at loggerheads with Home Minister P Chidambaram over the Naxal operations by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Chhattisgarh on June 27, in which 19 people were killed. While the home minister has stoutly defended the action and said those killed in the encounter were adults, the Congress party’s internal report on the incident contradicts the government’s version.

A preliminary report of the Congress unit in Chhattisgarh has specifically listed seven minor children among those killed, with the youngest being 12 years of age. The 14-member committee, headed by the Pradesh Congress vice-president, has found that villagers and tribals were among those killed in the operation, and the dead were not just Naxals as was being claimed.

The AICC general secretary in charge of Chhattisgarh said, “We have strong objection to the way tribals are being victimised in the crossfire between the forces and the naxals. We want the tribals of the Bastar region to be protected and not victimised.”

The Congress report lists the names of the seven children who were killed. They include: Irpa Suresh (13), Dilip Markam (14), Ekka Mittu (15), Kunjum Mala (16), Kaka Rahul (14), Markam Ram Vilas (14) and Kumari Kaka Saraswati (12).

The Congress is very clear on the fact that the intelligence report was wrong, and to a large extent, it was a miscalculation of the state government, as the CRPF in a state acts on the directions of the state government.

The contradictory stand between the party and the government is out in the open. Ironically, Chief Minister Raman Singh was singled out for praise by the PM yesterday when the latter met him accompanied by 150 students from Naxal-affected areas of the state.

Chidambaram, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, defended the CRPF from any criticism, saying, “The CRPF director general has said he had nothing to hide, nothing to fear. I do not think any Central force has been so transparent...I am not going into the political controversies. I am the home minister and the CRPF is under me. We have been absolutely candid, frank and upfront.”