PC admits to inadequacies in anti-Maoist offensive

Government fine-tuning Operation Green Hunt

“The progress is slow and steady. You cannot measure it like a cricket match score board. Even though there are certain inadequacies, there has been considerable progress in certain areas and ... we’ll continue to make progress,” Chidambaram told newsmen here after a meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee and his Orissa counterpart Naveen Patnaik. 

“Many key leaders (of Maoists) have been apprehended in the past few months... We’ll reclaim the areas dominated by the Naxalites,” he claimed. The operations had been “measured and calibrated” with no collateral damage so far.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his  Jharkhand counterpart Shibu Sorenskipped the meeting convened by Chidambaram to help the four Naxal-affected states of  West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand to coordinate their security campaign against the Naxals. While Soren sent his deputy Sudesh Mahato, Nitish Kumar dispatched state home secretary for the meeting.

Reiterating that the purpose of the offensive against the Maoists is not to kill anyone, he  pointed out that these are “our own people, we care for them, we care for their lives.
“The object is to re-establish civil administration in areas now dominated by the Naxalites who have spurned all previous appeals to shun violence and join the mainstream,” he said.

According to him, the Centre has been forced to continue with the offensive and it will be followed by a concerted development of the affected belt.

He said the authorities are keen to resume dialogue with the Naxals once they abjure violence.

The Union home minister has been accompanied by the CRPF director-general, additional director of intelligence bureau, a joint secretary in the Union Home Ministry and the security advisor of the same ministry.