Chhattisgarh announce relief package to Naxalite victims

Raipur, July 24 (UNI) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today announced in the Vidhan Sabha to provide Rs one lakh, a house and job to one member of the family of the victims of naxalite violence since the formation of state nearly six years ago.

''An action plan will be formulated to identify the families of victims of naxalite violence in order to implement the scheme,'' he said, while replying to a marathon debate on an opposition-sponsored adjournment motion on an incident in which 31 people were killed in a naxalite attack on a relief camp at Errabore on the intervening night of July 16-17.

Referring to the 'Salwa Judum', the ongoing peoples' campaign against the naxalites in Bastar, the Chief Minister reiterated that it was a spontaneous movement launched by the tribals themselves as they were driven to desperation due to the nearly three-decade-old problem of Maoist violence in the region.

''The local villagers have started the movement. How can the state government or anyone else stop it? Let us go and ask the people of Bastar what should be done,'' he added.

As far as providing security to the villagers and those in the relief camp are concerned, it was the responsibility of the state government, which had already geared up to strengthen security measures.

Security arrangements at the relief camps were being strengthened by erecting barbed wires and by deploying security forces, he added.

Mr Singh said the state would require about 15 battalions of paramilitary forces for deployment in the naxalite areas till at least 15,000 personnel gets trained in jungle warfare.

Participating in the debate on the adjournment motion, leader of opposition in assembly Mahendra Karma and others blamed the BJP Government for having failed to provide adequate security to the villagers, who had taken shelter in the relief camps in South Bastar following threat from the rebels in their native villages.

The opposition members alleged that police and paramilitary forces, which were deployed to protect the Errabore relief camp, did not come out for the rescue of the innocent villagers when the Maoists stormed the relief camp, killed 25 people and abducted many others.

They said six of the abducted were later killed by the rebels, they added.

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