Gadchiroli villagers oppose former Maoist leader's appointment as Gram Sabha coordinator by varsity

'For 40 years, these Maoists sat on our chests, threatened us and killed all our near & dear ones and now they have appointed one of their leaders as a coordinator'

Mumbai: The decision by Gondwana University in eastern Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district to appoint former Maoist strategist Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Bhupathi, as a coordinator with gram sabhas has sparked a fierce backlash.

Local communities in Bhamragad taluka of Gadchiroli, many of whom are victims of Maoist violence, are vehemently opposing the three-month contract given to Bhupathi. The government-run university appointed the former CPI (Maoist) politburo member on August 31 to help empower the very gram sabhas his group once allegedly targeted.


"For 40 years, these Maoists sat on our chests, threatened us and killed all our near and dear ones and now they have appointed one of their leaders as a coordinator," said Sitaram Madvi, a gram sabha member of Jijgaon village in Bhamragad, adding: "How can you appoint a person involved in dacoity to such a post?"

The Maoists opposed all government schemes and went out of the way to attack gram sabhas and other elected representatives implementing the schemes, he said, asking: "What are we going to learn from him."

People in Gadchiroli have been calling gram sabha members, enquiring about the appointment, Madvi said. "During their reign of terror, they attacked and killed several people, several women have become widows, and several children have become orphans. All of these people affected are now calling up gram sabha members in anger," he said.

Indershah Alam, another gram sabha member, said the gram sabhas of 123 villages in Bhamragad held a meeting and unanimously opposed the appointment of Bhupathi. They also met the Gadchiroli collector on September 6 and gave a memorandum asking Bhupathi's appointment to be rescinded, he said. "Bhupathi is supposed to work as a coordinator with the gram sabhas but how can we work with a man who has shed the blood of our people. We are not against him getting rehabilitated or getting any other job but not as a coordinator with the gram sabhas," he said.

Alam said if the university did not rescind the appointment within 15 days, they would call a maha gram sabha of the entire Gadchiroli district and launch an agitation.