Indore: Noted social worker Medha Patkar
on Friday demanded immediate halt to "Operation Green Hunt" in the
Naxal-hit areas, saying it was affecting tribals in a big way.
"What the government is doing in the name of Operation
Green Hunt is affecting the tribals in a big way. It is
forcing them to move away from their land and therefore it
should be stopped immediately," she told reporters at Indore
Press Club.
After the massacre of 76 CRPF personnel in Dantewada
district of Chhattisgarh, Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram
had said "no Operation Green Hunt is going on against
Naxalites."
Terming the April 6 killing of CRPF men as
unfortunate, Patkar said "I don't know on what basis we were
labelled as Naxal-supporters. But definitely, we are the
supporters of those tribals who are aware of their rights
and did not even know who the Mao was."
The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader said she was
opposed to violent solution of any problem irrespective of who
gets killed - Maoists, CRPF jawans or tribals.
Advocating equal distribution of fruits of
development, the social activist said innocent tribals should
not be removed from their land in the name of
industrialisation.
PTI
First Published: Friday, April 16, 2010, 18:50