Congress leaders in Jharkhand pledge to work despite threat

Congress leaders in Maoist-affected districts of Jharkhand today pledged to work with a renewed vigour despite 'threats' to them in some districts.
"It's human to feel circumspect after the Maoist attack in Chhastisgarh. Even our block and district party presidents had been killed in Jharkhand. But we believe in democracy and will work in the interest of the people," Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) President Sukhdeo Bhagat replied to a media query.
"Even I have only one guard as protection. But I have decided to go to every district, will meet party workers and strive to make the public aware of various Central flagship programmes and within the next three months we have chalked out various programmes to strengthened Congress in Jharkhand," he told reporters.

Bhagat who held a discussion with all district party presidents at Congress Bhavan here, told reporters that some of them had indeed raised the threat perspective, but they were courageous enough to carry forward the Central government's flagship programmes.
On how to deal with the Maoist menace, he said, "Any 'ism' can't be solved overnight. It has to be a long drawn strategy, covering socio-politico-economic aspects."
According to police records, 18 of the 24 districts in the state are Maoist affected, and two more districts have reported sporadic naxal violence.