MP Congress slams Chhattisgarh CM over Maoist attack

NEEMUCH: Madhya Pradesh Congress today criticised Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh over the Maoist attack on Congress' Parivartan Yatra in Sukma district on Saturday, which left 27 people, including senior party leaders, dead.

"Maoists killed Congress leaders by taking their names. The Chief Minister had prior knowledge about the Naxal attack, but failed to provide security to the Parivartan Yatra," Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee president Kantilal Bhuria alleged while talking to PTI.

Heavily armed Maoists ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district on Saturday, killing 27 people including State Congress Chief Nand Kumar Patel, senior leader Mahendra Karma and ex-MLA Uday Mudliyar, besides leaving 37 others injured including former Union Minister V C Shukla.

Bhuria said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has ordered the National Investigative Agency (NIA) to carry out an investigation into the incident. "The probe will expose the ruling BJP government in the state," Bhuria said.

However, Madhya Pradesh Transport Minister Jagdish Devda termed Bhuria's statement as completely "irresponsible" and said that Naxalites did not belong to any political party.

"It is an attempt by Bhuria to spread political enmity," he alleged.