BJP leader demands review of anti-naxal strategy

Raipur, July 18 (UNI) BJP leader and former Union minister Arvind Netam today demanded a review of 'Salwa Judum' -- an ongoing anti-naxal campaign in Bastar -- saying that innocent tribals were being targeted since the movement began a year back.

''Police and other security personnel must remain in the forefront of the conflict with Maoists. Unarmed 'adivasis' should not become ''human shields,'' he told reporters here.

Mr Netam, himself a tribal leader from Bastar, said he was pained over yesterday's incident in which 33 people were killed and scores injured when rebels stormed a relief camp at Errabor and torched houses.

Describing the assault as one of the worst massacres of its kind, Mr Netam said the attack clearly indicated that 'Salwa Judum' had repercussions on Bastar's poor adivasis.

Stating that the action against the ultras must continue uninterrupted, the former minister added that security personnel must be pro-active against the extremists.

In the past, Mr Netam said, a similar 'Jan Jagran' (awareness drive) was carried out in Bastar to isolate insurgents but almost all those who actively participated in the movement were eliminated by the naxals.

''I am not for stopping the anti-Maoist campaign. But strategies have to be altered in the light of massacres,'' he felt.

Asked why the state government should review Salwa Judum when it maintained that it was not a state-sponsored campaign but a spontaneous movement launched by locals, Mr Netam said, ''I don't think that it's such a movement.'' The BJP leader said Salwa Judum resulted in large-scale displacement of people from villages. They had to take shelter in state-run relief camps and this forced security personnel to provide cover to them instead of pursuing rebels.

To another question, Mr Netam said he had already raised the issue at appropriate party fora and a majority of tribal leaders within the BJP were convinced. ''The state government is yet to take adivasi leaders into confidence on the issue of fighting the ultra menace that is a multi-dimensional problem with political, social and economic implications,'' he added.

UNI JJ AC YA HT2119