Digvijay Singh blames Raman Singh for Maoist attack

NEW DELHI - Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh Wednesday blamed Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh for failing to prevent attacks by Maoist in his state.

“If Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra can contain Maoists, why can’t Chhattisgarh do it?” Digvijay Singh said here.

“Law and order is a state subject. It is the state which decides deployment of central forces,” he added.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday called for a bipartisan approach to the Maoist problem while also emphasising that states had to play a major role in tackling the Leftwing guerrillas.

Opposing any air strikes in operations against Maoists, Digvijay Singh said he has reservations on the issue. He said that the Rammohan Committee, which probed the Dantewada massacre, in which 76 security personnel were killed last month, had also opposed the use of air power.

His remarks come two days after Maoists massacred 31 people in Chhattisgarh.

Asked about the government-backed civil militia movement Salwa Judum, Digvijay Singh said it was “an excellent movement” but the state government had not given villagers adequate support and had asked them to come out of villages and put them in camps.

The Congress leader said Home Minister Chidambaran shouldn’t have taken the blame for the attack by Maoists in Chhattisgarh.

“Why is he (Chidambaram) taking blame on himself? He is not responsible. The chief minister is responsible.”

“Raman Singh has taken a stand that this conflict can only be solved by armed offensive. He does not explain where were Chhattisgarh Police when the Dantewada incident took place,” he said.