Chhattisgarh seeks Naga battalions to take on Naxals

Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has sought battalions of Nagaland armed police force personnel, experts in jungle warfare, from the Union Home Ministry to take on Naxals in his state.

"We have asked the Home Ministry to deploy some Naga armed police force personnel in Chhattisgarh. They will be taking up the matter with Nagaland government," Singh told PTI here.

The Naga battalions were deployed in the Bastar region of the state, one of the worst affected by Naxal extremism, and they did a very good job, he said.

"Experience shows that Nagaland battalions were very useful in fighting the naxalites. They are very good at jungle warfare," said the Chief Minister of the BJP-ruled state.
Singh said his government was determined to end the Naxal menace in the state.

"There is no doubt about it. It (naxalism) will end. The state government has carried out much development work and the naxalites are frustrated by it," he said.

Asked about his views on deployment of Army to fight naxals, Singh expressed his reservation.

"Neither our Constitution nor our conscience would allow deployment of the Army. They are for fighting external enemies. We will take on Naxals. Naxalism will be removed from the state soon," he said.

Citing the challenges being faced in tackling naxalism, the Chief Minister said that the Bastar region is bigger in size than Kerala and shares borders with other Maoist violence -affected states like Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra.

"Forces took 40 years to catch one Veerappan (dreaded sandalwood smuggler who was killed by security forces in 2004). There are thousands of Veerappans in the state. But we will catch each one of them," he said.

Addressing a rally in the Naxal hotbed of Dantewada, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had advised Maoists to abjure violence and take part in ensuring the country's development.

The state police force also said that the deployment of Naga battalions would prove to be an "asset" in fighting naxalism.

"Nagaland armed police force personnel are well trained in jungle warfare. Their deployment here will prove to be an asset in fighting naxalites," said SRP Kalluri, Inspector General of Police, Bastar region, who added that the Naga battalions were deployed there between 2006 and 2008.

"Later, they had to go due to pressure from non- governmental organisations. They accused Naga battalions of human rights violations," said Kalluri, a known name in anti- Naxal operations.

At least 40,000 personnel of the central paramilitary forces are deployed in Chhattisgarh, which has witnessed many Naxal attacks in the recent past with the worst being the 2010 assault that left 76 Central Reserve Police Force personnel dead.

The Chief Minister said that there were many obstacles to undertaking basic infrastructure development work in the state.

"Chhattisgarh has one of the most expensive roads in the country. The construction of the Gangloor-Aravalli-Bijapur stretch caused many casualties. We lost many men," he said.

Singh pointed out that the Bastar region has many natural resources and their proper utilisation can result in huge economic growth for the state and the Centre.

"There is very good iron available in Bastar. But for many years, it was being exported to Japan, China and Korea. I told the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) to set up a plant. Then they set up the iron and steel plant at Nagarnar here," he said.

Development projects worth Rs 24,000 crore, including one for setting up an ultra mega steel plant in Dantewada district, were inked during the Prime Minister's visit to the state on Saturday and Singh said that he was getting 100 per cent support from the Centre.

"There was no policy decision taken by Congress in the last 60 years. But the NDA government's decision to auction coal mines will be beneficial for the state. We hope to get at least Rs 22,000 crore from it. The money will then be used for the welfare of the people here," he said.