Maoists too are acquiring chemical weapons! Are we dozing off?

Ranchi, Sept 20: The internal enemies of the Indian state are getting stronger with each passing day. Several Congress leaders were killed in Chhattisgarh in May in what constituted the first-ever organised attack a political party by the extremists.

Now, the Jharkhand Police have expressed concern over the Maoists' acquiring chemical weapons and an alert has been issued in all the districts of the state. The officers undertaking anti-Maoist operations have been asked to handle the task with care.

Additional Director of Police, Law and Order, SN Pradhan, who is also the spokesperson of Jharkhand Police, told IANS that the ultras have been trained to use liquified methane and nitrogen compounds and they are hung on trees hurled at the security personnel and lead to a fire.

It has also been reported that the guerrillas have roped in professional engineers to impart training in the use of the deadly weapons. The cadres are allegedly trained to plant bombs on the roadside or inside dead bodies. They also use technology yo track messages of the security forces.

Isn't it time that we get over the political fight and look after the security?

A few days ago, from the confessions of arrested mastermind of Indian Mujahideen (IM) Yasin Bhatkal, the security personnel could make out that the terror outfit is far more advanced than the state police in terms of technology and the security agencies need to cover some distance before matching the expertise of the death merchants.

It is difficult to understand the political debate and disagreement over setting up of a National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) even as the country's external and internal enemies are posing grave threats to the country's security. The political parties are too busy debating whether the counter-terror agencies will curb the states' freedom in a federalism but alarmingly, some of them keep silent even if a dreaded terrorist is caught in their own state. The deadly killing of the Congress politicians in Chhattisgarh had also led to a political debate.

Isn't it urgent to bury the superficial political differences to get a few extra votes and get united on the question of national security? The Congress-led UPA is often blamed for not putting up a strong response to either Pakistan or China even as they continue to violate the borders. But are the other parties eager enough to work towards a robust security mechanism both against the external and internal enemies?

The lethargic and complacent State is involved in political bickering even as the enemies are going on building on their expertise. Isn't it high time to devise mechanism to curb the Maoists's growth? They have carried out some disastrous attacks on common people but the State is yet to come up with a strong counter policy.

Ominous signs.

OneIndia News