Maoist crisis: Naveen debunks Centres claim

BHUBANESWAR: The Centre and the State Government seem to be heading towards a confrontation over the issue of anti-Maoist campaign in Odisha. The State maintained that the Home Ministry’s advisory mentioning the alarming rise in the activities of the Maoists is incorrect.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday dismissed the allegation of the Centre that the State Government has failed to check Maoist activities as incorrect. A reply would be sent on Monday, he added. “A letter has beenreceived from the Centre ...it was found that the allegations made by the HomeMinistry are not correct. they are incorrect,” Naveen told mediapersons here, reacting to the letter in which the Centre has attacked Odisha for an “alarming rise” in the activities of Maoists.Naveen said the content of the letter was discussed in detail at the meeting of theUnified Command held last night. The meeting was chaired by the Chief Secretary and attended by senior officials of BSF, CRPF, police and others. A reply would be sent to the Centre by the State Government on Monday,which would point out the “defects” in their letter, Naveen said.While attacking Odisha for an “alarming” rise in the activities of Maoists, the Centre had accused the Naveen Patnaik Government of failing to take any counter measure.“Odisha is the only State in India where activities of CPI(Maoists) are spreading to new areas at an alarming rate without requisite counter-measures by the State Government,” the Home Ministry had said in a communication to the Director-General of Police and the Principal Secretary in the Home department. The Home Ministry told the State Government that since the hostage crisis arising out of the abduction of two Italians and an MLA was resolved, it should rework on the strategy to deal with “rising Naxalism” in the State.The missive from the Home Ministry was received by the State Government days after Naveen opposed the establishment of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre at a meeting convened by the Centre on the issue in New Delhi on May 5.