A day after Maoists killed 25 CRPF jawans in Chhattisgarh, the Centre on Tuesday said it will review the strategy to combat left-wing extremism and revisit it to see if there is any lacunae.
A comprehensive re-look will be undertaken during a meeting of chief ministers and senior police officers from Maoist-affected states on May 8 in the national capital.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who described the killing as “cold-blooded murder and cowardice”, acknowledged the need for a review of the strategy at Raipur, where he rushed to pay homage to the martyrs.
“The sacrifice of our brave jawans will not go in vain...We will review the strategy and if necessary we will revisit it. We are working to root out the problem of Left-wing extremism...We have accepted it as a challenge,” Rajnath said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh also warned that an operation will be launched “with more firmness” and “vigour” against the guerrillas in the coming days.
“I believe that the fight against Maoists in Sukma is the biggest battle being fought against Left-wing extremism in the country. We have decided to enhance our activities and construction work in the region,” the chief minister said.
The government has a two-pronged anti-Maoist strategy – with armed operations followed by development activities, such as constructing roads, health centres and schools, in the affected areas. The security operations are carried out by paramilitary forces with support from the state police.
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