Chhattisgarh Cong observes first anniversary of Jiram attack

Raipur: Congress in Chhattisgarh on Monday observed first anniversary of the Jiram valley Maoist attack, in which 31 people including the party`s top leadership were assassinated, by paying homage to them.

Several programmes were held today at the district and block headquarters, to honour the "martyrdom" of senior Congress leaders including Mahendra Karma, Nandkumar Patel, Uday Mudliyar and other leaders who were killed on May 25 last year, state Congress spokesperson Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said. Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (CPCC) chief Bhupesh Baghel participated in a programme held at Faraspal in Dantewada district, the home village of the late Mahendra Karma, while other senior Congress leaders took part in a programme at Kharsiya (Raigarh), the native place of the late Nand Kumar Patel and at Rajnandgaon which is the hometown of late Uday Mudliyar, he said. Speaking to reporters at Jagdalpur district headquarters, CPCC chief Baghel accused the ruling BJP in Chhattisgarh of failing to give the status of "martyrs" to Congress leaders killed in the attack. "It is unfortunate that even after a year of the Jiram episode, the deceased leaders were not given the status of martyrs," Baghel said. "Regardless of the BJP government giving them (leaders) the status of martyrs or not, the Congress party and people of the state believe that they are martyrs," he said. Besides, the Congress has also decided to observe "martyrdom day" on June 11, which is the death anniversary of former union minister Vidyacharan Shukla, who died at a Gurgaon hospital later, while undergoing treatment. A total of 31 people, including CPCC chief Nandkumar Patel, his son Dinesh, former leader of opposition Mahendra Karma, and former MLA Uday Mudliyar, were killed, while several others were injured in the incident.