Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s proposed anti-Maoist drive, which is said to be facing resistance from within his own party, may get a boost from recent hijacking of the Bhubaneswar-Delhi Raj-dhani Express by Maoist sympathizers in West Bengal. Had a local passenger train been the target of the “army of the poor,” the uproar over the incident might have been more muted. The Rajdhani, however, is in a different category. This is perhaps for the first time that the PLU (People Like Us) factor has come into play where the Maoists are concerned for, till now, their activities have been largely confined to the countryside and forested areas.
However, the direct involvement of the rebels is still not certain since the train was stopped by activists of the so-called Committee Against Police Atrocities, which was formed in Lalgarh after the police operations there following a landmine attack on Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhatta-charjee’s convoy last Novem-ber. The supporters of the committee had held up the train to demand the release of their leader, Chhatradhar Mahato, whose links with Mamata Banerjee are no se-cret. It is perhaps for this reason that the Railway Minister first alleged that the CPI (M) cadre had blocked the train, then offered to talk to the agitators and finally demanded central intervention.
If the Minister did not appear sure of what she wanted, the Chief Minister’s position was worse. Having been under attack from within the administration for giving in to the Maoist demands over the release of an abducted police officer, there was no way he could avoid the charge that the latest episode was an indication of how the Left extremists had been emboldened by the earlier “surrender.” He must have heaved a sigh of relief, therefore, when the blockade was lifted following the arrival of armed contingents. The fact that the number of casualties was low despite an exchange of fire between the police and the Maoists, and that none of the passengers was injured, must have been another source of relief.
The incident once again underscores the need to firm up the official tactics in countering the threat, in which the Center will have to play a leading role since the helplessness of the state government has again been exposed. The tendency to derive political mileage from such incidents, as Mamata Banerjee appeared to be doing, should also be eschewed.
Courtesy: Expressbuzz.com
Center should tackle Maoists
