Digvijay Singh calls PC 'rigid' and 'arrogant'

New Delhi, Apr 14: Just a day after the Prime Minister passed a gag order restricting the ministers from making comments on internal security, Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh has made scathing comments against Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on the Maoist issue.

Differing with the Home Minister for treating Maoist issues as a law and order problem, Mr Digvijay Singh opined that the counter-Maoist strategy needs to be reviewed and revised.

“In this case (regarding Maoists), I have differed with his (Chidambaram"s) strategy that does not take into consideration the people living in the affected area who ultimately matter. He is treating it purely as a law and order problem without taking into consideration the issues that affect the tribals," Mr Singh is quoted as saying.

“When I raised these issues with him (Chidambaram), he said it was not his responsibility," he is quoted as saying in a newspaper article titled 'Rethink counter-Maoist strategy'.

Saying that Chidamabaram was 'extremely rigid' and 'arrogant', the AICC General Secretary opined, “I strongly believe in the collective responsibility of the Cabinet, and as the Home Minister, it is his responsibility to take a holistic view of the issue and put it up to the Cabinet rather than opt for a narrow sectarian view. The Home Minister is also a member of the core group."

In the statement which comes amid the outrage over the Dantewada Maoist massacre, Mr Singh also questioned as to why the Chidambaram was facing the heat and taking responsibility for it when the state government should be doing that.

“The Centre provides central forces at the request of the state government and their deployment is the responsibility of the state government. In this incident, where was the state police? I believe it was represented only by a head constable," he said.

He said the red terror could be wiped off if the government paid attention to improving the lives of the locals through governance rather than turning the Naxal affected regions into battlefields.

OneIndia News