Chhattisgarh Assembly to hold in-camera debate on naxalism

Raipur, July 17 (UNI) The Chhattisgarh assembly will hold an 'in-camera' debate on naxal menace in a special sitting on July 25.

''The special debate on naxalite problem will not be open for the media and the visitors' gallery will also remain vacant. A few senior officials, directly related with the issue, will be present in the house and the proceedings will not be recorded'', Assembly sources said.

Assembly Secretary Devendra Verma said the monsoon session, scheduled to conclude on July 19, had been extended till July 25.

There will be no sitting on July 19 in view of the voting for Presidential elections.

The decision to hold an 'in-camera' sitting of the house to discuss the naxalite problem was taken after the opposition parties pressed for a detailed debate on Maoist menace but state Home Minister Ram Vichar Netam had maintained that it was not proper to have an open discussion on the problem and the strategies to deal with it.

During this session, opposition Congress had moved a notice for adjournment motion on the recent violent incident at Errabore in Dantewada district, where 24 security personnel were killed in a Maoist attack. During the debate on the admissibility of the motion, the Home Minister had assured to convene a separate meeting of legislators to discuss the issue.

Communist Party of India (Maoist) cadres have their presence in 12 out of 18 districts of the state. In the last two years, naxalites have stepped up violence in the tribal areas of Bastar after the locals launched 'Sawa Judum', which in local tribal dialect means peace mission, to drive out Maoists from the region.

UNI