Hit by repeated and deadly Maoist attacks, an exasperated Union home ministry on Wednesday shifted the entire blame for the incidents on the state governments.
A top home ministry official on Wednesday said that the Centre can not take the initiative. It is the job of the state governments. He then added: “If the state governments ask for additional force, the Centre will definitely provide. But it is the state governments who will have to take action.”
The official further clarified, “If the Maoist attacks are increasing in certain states, then the onus of preventing them is on the governments of that particular state. It should not be shifted to the Centre.” With law and order being a state subject, the Centre’s role was very limited, he said, adding that the Centre could only provide additional forces, intelligence and tactical assistance.
The home ministry is facing flak following the repeated Naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. Sources informed that now the ministry was considering to tackle the Maoists menace firmly and was now preparing a comprehensive note, which was likely to be discussed in the next meeting of the cabinet committee on security, sources added.
There are reports that the ministry is now considering to change the entire strategy of tackling the Naxal menace and even that of providing forces to the states. Sources added that the ministry was aware that it could just not distance itself from the problem by saying that law and order was a state subject. They added that in certain conditions the Centre will have to think about taking initiative.
Adding that additional financial assistance for the modernisation of the state police forces could also be the part of the Centre’s strategy to fight Naxal menace. “There is no doubt that the state police forces require modernisation as well as sophisticated weapons to handle such situations,” sources said.