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Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi today stirred up another controversy by justifying Naxals extorting levy from contractors and businessmen. The Chief Minister said that he sees nothing wrong in naxals demanding levy from contractors, who according to him, are indulging in corruption and looting the state. Manjhi also said that he would invite naxals for talks.
"I do not see any wrong in what they (Naxals) are doing by collecting levy from contractors engaged in building roads, community buildings and other government works," Manjhi told reporters after his weekly public interaction programme "Janata ke Darbar me Mukhya Mantri" at his residence.
Manjhi said about three years ago when he was a minister in the erstwhile Nitish Kumar Cabinet, some people claiming to be Naxals had met him to justify their demanding 'levy' from contractors.
"...They (Naxals) told me that contractors, in nexus with engineers, deliberately give a higher cost of a project besides doing a low quality job. They said if a work is actually worth Rs 3-4 lakh an estimate of around Rs 11 lakh is given so that a profit of almost Rs 7-8 lakh is made out of the low quality work," Manjhi said. "I did not see anything wrong in Naxals taking Rs 1 lakh from the contractors which still left them with a profit of about Rs 6 lakh," he said.
"Are Naxals foreigners?... People who have turned Naxals also belong to our society and they could be won back to mainstream not by brandishing guns but by development," Manjhi told reporters.
Asked if he would invite the leftist rebels for talks, he said, "Why not? Many CMs and even leaders like Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan met them and exhorted them to shun guns and return to the mainstream of society."
He answered in the negative when asked if his assertions would demoralise security forces fighting the rebels.
