MOS in PMO squarely blames BJP govt for Chhattisgarh ambush

BANGALORE: Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy today accused the BJP government in Chhattisgarh of ignoring the intelligence on a possible Naxal attack on Congress leaders.

"It is purely the failure of Chhattisgarh government in not protecting the Congress leaders inspite of giving them prior information about the public rally. Congress had also made an issue for not providing security to Congress leaders a couple of years back, especially when I was touring Naxal-hit areas including Bastar district," Narayanasamy told reporters here.

In contrast, the state government provides heavy security to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh whenever he is on a tour in Naxal-infested areas, he said.

Responding to allegations that Congress did not coordinate with Chhattisgarh administration on the possible Maoist attack, Narayanasamy said this question does not arise and it is their duty to give security.

"They had given the permission (to conduct Congress rally). So, everything was known to them. What more coordination they need?" he said.

Narayanasamy charged BJP with adopting "double standards" in checking Naxalism. "They (BJP) oppose National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) on the pretext that law and order is a state subject and fail to protect their people from Maoist attacks," he said.

Asked why shouldn't Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde cut short his US visit and address Naxal issue, Narayanasamy said the minister is on an official visit and would coordinate once he returns.

To a query, Narayanasamy said seeking the Army's help in tackling Naxalism is a larger issue and he could not make any comments as Defence Minister A K Antony has ruled out the Army intervention. "I go by the Defence Minister's comments."

Asked whether satellites would be used to track Naxalites, Narayanasamy said "unless and until the state government functions effectively, whatever we (central government) do will not be effective."

To another query, he said people propagating and supporting Naxalites and Naxalism will learn a lesson from Jagdalpur ambush. "NGOs are behaving in an anti-national way. This was evident from Jagdalpur massacre," he said.

Reacting to a general perception that the Congress-led UPA government has adopted soft-approach to tackle Naxalism, Narayanasamy said "when we tell them (BJP-ruled states), they say you (Centre) are interfering. Now, they are saying the Centre is soft. This shows the double standards of BJP."