Congress puts Chhattisgarh govt under scanner for Darba incident

Opposition Congress Monday lashed out at the BJP-led government in Chhattisgarh alleging its failure to ensure security facilitated Naxalites to kill its key leaders in Darba of Bastar on May 25.

“In last 10 years, the BJP government in Chhattisgarh had failed to design any policy to combat the Naxalites,” Leader of Opposition Ravindra Choubey said while speaking on the obituary references in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly today. The rebels were taking advantage of it, he added.

The House paid rich tributes to the Congress leaders killed in Darba Naxal attack and others. Besides sitting member and state Congress chief Nandkumar Patel, former minister Vidyacharan Shukla, former leader of opposition Mahendra Karma, former legislator Uday Mudaliar and 28 others were killed in Darba when rebels ambushed a Congress convoy.

During the election time, Choubey added, the state government would announce talks with the rebels and when a collector had been abducted, it would stress on negotiating with the Naxalites. The government should make public the deal it had reached for the release of Sukma District Collector earlier.

The Leader of Opposition said it was unfortunate and painful that Congress president and his son’s bodies were lying throughout the night in the forests. “Even the bodies were discovered 100 meters from the main road, police did not dare to recover,” Choubey said.  

The other Congress legislators including former chief minister Ajit Jogi, former minister Mohammed Akbar also criticised the state government and raised many issues to underline the lapses. The Speaker, Dharamlal Kaushik however intervened and said a debate could not be allowed in the obituary reference.

Kaushik said the opposition members were raising the issue of alleged failure and hence the government had all the rights to reply. “Since the procedure of rules in the House does not allow debate during the obituary references, the opposition members could discuss the issue in other business later,” he added.

Choubey contested and said there was no justification in discussing the issue and hear the government’s clarification. Later in the lobby, he told reporters that the government was responsible for Congress leaders’ massacre and hence there was no logic to note government’s version on the issue.

The Speaker announced to expunge the derogatory remarks and comments made by the opposition members during the business.

Chief Minister Raman Singh told reporters later that the state government was ready to reply to all the queries of the opposition. “It had been a tradition of House to pay tributes to the leaders passed away and discussing other issues during the business was not a good trend,” he said.

He added that high level inquiry including judicial and National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe had been going on and levelling allegation in between would not be fair.