Defying naxal threat in Bastar, Chhattisgarh all set to celebrate festival of democracy

By Avinash Prasad
Bastar (Chhattisgarh) [India], August 18 : While Chhattisgarh is gearing up to celebrate the biggest festival of democracy - the upcoming state assembly election, the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) started dropping pamphlets boycotting elections in the insurgency-hit Bastar region posing a challenge to political parties for carrying out campaigns.
Naxals do not let political parties carry out campaigns in areas under their dominance. In the last six months, insurgents have allegedly killed four BJP workers in the Bastar region following which the saffron party attacked Congress by dubbing it a targeted killing while the state government refuted the allegations.
Although police officials in Bastar stated that political killings witnessed a decline as compared to previous elections and they are extensively working to ensure a safe environment, BJP leaders claimed that they have to come out for the election campaigns by keeping their life at risk.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that he had initiated talks but a response from the side of the outlawed organisation did not come.

Speaking to ANI in Jagdalpur, former minister and BJP leader Kedar Kashyap said that to some extent Congress government in the state is responsible for the targeted killing.
Questioning the movement of Congress leaders in Bastar, Kashyap said that MLAs of the ruling party freely go to interior areas without any security.

Taking a jibe at Congress, Kashyap said ‘yah rishta kya kahalata hai’ (what is this relationship called?) and there is a need to worry about this. We have never lagged behind in election campaigns and we have come (to power) fighting earlier and continue to fight in future as well.
Despite threats, the party workers go to those areas and carry out election campaigns and continue to do the same, said the former minister.
They don’t believe in democracy and if not, then they will oppose, said the Chief Minister.
“People asked me, whether I will talk to naxals. In response, I said that if you (referring to naxals) believe in the constitution then there is no problem in holding talks but there was no response from their side,” said CM Baghel.
It is the modus-operandi of outlawed CPI (Maoist) that they always hatch a conspiracy against democracy and as a part of this conspiracy, they attack public representatives and politicians, said Bastar Range IG Sundarraj P.
If 2013 and 2018 will be reviewed, naxals have killed 41 persons associated with political parties and the incidents include the Jhiram attack, said the IG, elaborating that the figure significantly declined.
As compared to 2019, ultras have executed 12 incidents in 2023, said IG Sundarraj. Our effort is to control such incidents in future and strengthen the democratic system so that a safe environment for people belonging to political parties could be created, the officer said.