Defence ministry to hold recruitment camps in maoist-hit areas

KOLKATA: Taking a cue from Mamata Banerjee, the Union government has now decided to hold recruitment camps in the remotest areas of Naxalite zones in the country to pick up youths for the country’s armed forces. Mamata Banerjee has already recruited several thousands of youths in the state police department from Maoist-infested Jangalmahal. Bengal chief minister’s move to recruit Jangalmahal youths in the state police has received tremendous response from the local youths who are very keen to join the state police.

The Union minister of state for defence, Jitendra Singh told reporters here on Thursday that his ministry will hold recruitment camps in the remotest villages which fall in Naxalite areas. Singh was here to attend a function at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. He told reporters after the function that the move by the defence ministry to recruit youths from Maoist areas will help the government to solve the Maoist menace in the country in many ways.

"Developments have been carried out in and around cities and towns and we need to spread such activities in remote villages which are the targets of red ultras who try to exploit the poverty of rural people to expand their organisations," Singh told reporters. He, however, ruled out possibility of deploying army to tackle the Maoists. "There are CRPF and many other specialised forces to combat the Maoists and it is not the job of the army to fight the Maoists," the minister said.

Interestingly, Mamata Banerjee has started recruiting youths from three Maoist infested districts of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura in the state’s police department immediately after she came to power in May 2011. The process of recruiting local youths of Jangalmahal is widely appreciated and the state government has received huge response from the youths living in Jangalmahal. The Union government also praised Mamata’s government for it’s success in tackling the Maoist activities in West Bengal.