Congress Party is totally committed to the cause of fighting out this terror

New Delhi

AICC Spokesperson Ms.  Chaturvedi said, today it is indeed a very sad and painful day not just for me, but for the entire Nation - on a day - after losing 26 of our CRPF men in a violent attack by the Naxalites.

 We all offer our heartfelt condolences to the families of those men who laid down their lives in the safety and security of the Nation. It is indeed extremely painful and saddening for us because those families who have lost their men and would be in a state of grief and shocked, their families would be wondering what is in store for them in the future.

 We would want to ask the State Government and the Central Government as to who would take responsibility for those who will now have to live a life without their men at home? In the same breath I would also like to say Congress Party is totally committed to the cause of fighting out this terror. We will ensure wholeheartedly that every measure taken by the Government would find support in us and would ensure that this particular challenge that the Nation faces in the shape of Naxalism would find support from the Opposition and we will be a responsible Opposition.

However, we do have questions of the Government and questions very clearly,  that ever since the BJP Government has come into power, they had made strong claims about wiping out terror and zero tolerance to terrorism. Yet in 2017 in Chhatisgarh itself, we have seen the highest number of deaths – 72, causalities of our armed men, paramilitary forces - CRPF men.

 So, our question to them is, when you talk about Zero tolerance to terror, what is it that you are doing? What effective steps are you taking both from the Centre and state considering both and the centre and at state you have a BJP Government?

What effective measures have been taken in this regard? Is it not an intelligence failure - a clear indication our men losing their lives; 26 men have lost their lives. Troops needlessly being sent in an ill planned fashion in a Naxalite infested area, well-known area. It is a clear indication of intelligence failure and lack of state and centre co-ordination. So, when we talk about wiping the scourge out, what you plan to do in terms of that? We would also like to ask the Home Minister today the post of DG, CRPF has been lying vacant since 1st February 2017 and nothing has been done in this regard. If we are so serious and if we are so committed to handling terrorism, we should be serious about handling the challenge on the border as well as from our own home grown terrorists and I call them terrorists because what they have done is absolutely unacceptable and inhuman.

During the Congress Party's tenure, we went ruthlessly after all these Naxalites who were working against the state, working against the Government and we have done everything whether it was in Andhra Pradesh wiping out terrorists and Maoists violence. We lost a generation of our senior leadership in Chhatisgatrh and this was again during the BJP tenure. We got a commitment from the CM Raman Singh that they would investigate and hold people accountable for that violent incident in Jheeram Ghati, Chhatisgarh. Yet we have seen no action on the ground.

It is also a well-known fact that when you on one hand talk about 'Sab-ka-saath, sab-ka-vikas', and on the other hand, you do everything in your rights to dilute the welfare schemes that belong to the inhabitants of the land, it is bound to create a state of unhappiness in the minds of these people who end up helping such Naxalites. In this incident also, it is reported that villagers tipped off the Naxalites and then we saw the ambush happen. Continuous and systematic dilution of the welfare schemes and the funds is going to create disharmony and a feeling of being left out from all the development that PM speaks about.

We remember during our tenure, we had an integrated comprehensive policy to tackle this challenge. We had identified 80 such Districts infested by Naxalites to ensure that the inhabitants just not get development but also tackle the challenge that the Government faced from armed terrorists, armed Naxalites.

We did everything well within our system to ensure a comprehensive policy. Ever since 2014 the Home Ministry and the Finance Ministry have diluted such initiative and we would like to ask them – isn't this the priority of the Government? It is the life of our jawans-  to safeguard them should be a priority for any Government. I would also like to bring to your notice how the Forest Rights Act which empowered these tribals living in these Areas gave them the right to their land, forest produce and livelihood, it brought them into main stream that we always had in mind for not just a certain class but for all. We have seen of late how systematically BJP under Modi has been diluting these rights of the forest dwellers. 

It is also a well-known fact that how the Backward Grant Relief Fund that was started by UPA has also been discarded by this Government. Does this Government feel that they have achieved enough development, does this State Government especially under Dr. Raman Singh feel that he has provided enough development for them to be able to handle this kind of a challenge that we face currently?

Safeguarding our jawans and handling the Naxalism challenge should be a priority not an afterthought for any government in power. https://t.co/ogNnDpP7vv

— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) April 25, 2017

I just spoke about CRPF DG who is still not appointed. I would want to ask today CM Dr.Raman Singh, the Home Minister Rajnath Singh as well as the Prime Minister of Nation, is this not a question of your integrity? All the promises that you had made to the people of this country, to our army men remain hollow, diluted and lie in a state of total neglect and zero priority.

I would also want to show you a visual as a reminder as to how they used to behave when they were in Opposition and this should be a reminder.

Ms. Chaturvedi said this is our Prime Minister speaking and we have seen how lot of talk has happened but statistics prove otherwise. A lot of talk Prime Minister makes in various speeches.

So my questions to the Prime Minister, to the Home Minister as well as the Chief Minister of Chhatisgarh would be – how many more lives would it take for you all to seek accountability for those who have failed our army men. How many more lives need to be lost for you all to realize that you have not made this issue a priority in tackling the menace?

I would want to ask this Government especially the Home Minister and the Prime Minister – how many more deaths would it take since it has been 14 years that BJP has been in power in Chhatisgarh for all to realize that the Chief Minister has failed to ensure law and order and to wipe out a challenge that Chhatisgarh has been witnessing for years now under their rule, under their dispensation.

How does the Prime Minister commit himself to ensure that such kind of intelligence lapses do not happen and there is better co-ordination between the State and the Centre? Would the Prime Minister hold the Chief Minister accountable? Would he ask the Chief Minister of Chattisgarh to step down from his position taking moral responsibility of mindless acts?

So these are the questions to the Prime Minister and also it does good to remind the Prime Minister of the commitment he had made to the people of this country of wiping out Naxalism in this country.