How Nitish took on Naxals on their home turf
In Nitish Kumar’s hour of triumph, one major question that comes to mind is whether he has been able to beat the Maoists, like Lalu & company, at their own game.
By TNN |
PATNA: In Nitish Kumar’s hour of triumph, one major question that comes to mind is whether he has been able to beat the Maoists, like Lalu & company, at their own game.
Owing to his socialist leanings , the NDA’s helmsman in Bihar regarded development and democracy as the best weapons to fight the Communist extremists. ‘‘ I don’t want to use force against the Maoists. We can tackle them only with development and democracy at the grassroots level,’’ he said when New Delhi threatened an all-out offensive against the Red rebels following the massacre of 76 CRPF personnel at Dantewada last spring.
In a display of pragmatic politics, Nitish made sure that he did not have to take the Maoists head-on in an election year. Braving criticism from within and outside Bihar, he stayed away from the meetings of chief ministers of Maoisthit states called by Union home minister P Chidambaram.
Instead, he wanted the country to take care of ‘‘ human rights first’’ and treat the underground rebels ‘‘ as part of society’’ . As expected, his refusal to ‘‘ sing in tune with New Delhi’’ earned him a quick praise from the Maoists.
In villages, Nitish tried to win hearts with the help of his novel campaign named ‘‘ Aapki sarkar aapke dwar (government at your doorstep).
This gave people a chance to take part in the development process. His efforts to uplift the depressed sections, especially his decision to put 21 extremely backward classes on the Mahadalit list, kept large swathes of the countryside out of Maoist influence. Traditionally , the underground guerrillas get the bulk of their fighting force from among the deprived groups.
Owing to his socialist leanings , the NDA’s helmsman in Bihar regarded development and democracy as the best weapons to fight the Communist extremists. ‘‘ I don’t want to use force against the Maoists. We can tackle them only with development and democracy at the grassroots level,’’ he said when New Delhi threatened an all-out offensive against the Red rebels following the massacre of 76 CRPF personnel at Dantewada last spring.
In a display of pragmatic politics, Nitish made sure that he did not have to take the Maoists head-on in an election year. Braving criticism from within and outside Bihar, he stayed away from the meetings of chief ministers of Maoisthit states called by Union home minister P Chidambaram.
Instead, he wanted the country to take care of ‘‘ human rights first’’ and treat the underground rebels ‘‘ as part of society’’ . As expected, his refusal to ‘‘ sing in tune with New Delhi’’ earned him a quick praise from the Maoists.
In villages, Nitish tried to win hearts with the help of his novel campaign named ‘‘ Aapki sarkar aapke dwar (government at your doorstep).
This gave people a chance to take part in the development process. His efforts to uplift the depressed sections, especially his decision to put 21 extremely backward classes on the Mahadalit list, kept large swathes of the countryside out of Maoist influence. Traditionally , the underground guerrillas get the bulk of their fighting force from among the deprived groups.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
