Govt vows payback for Sukma ambush
MAOIST MENACE Rajnath says will overhaul strategy to deal with rebels but rules out army deployment in red zone
The government said on Tuesday it has accepted the challenge thrown by Maoists and hinted at adopting a revised strategy to tackle Leftwing insurgents who killed 25 CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh in one of the bloodiest massacres of security personnel in India.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh, who visited Chhattisgarh capital Raipur following Monday’s ambush in south Sukma, described the incident as “cold blooded murder” and is understood to have sought visible action against the rebels within two months.
The midday attack in the insurgency hotbed of Bastar is the worst since Maoist rebels — who claim to be fighting for land rights of marginalised tribal communities — killed 75 CRPF troopers in the same region in 2010.
“It is an act of desperation. We have accepted it as a challenge. We will review the strategy and if necessary we will revisit it,” the home ministry quoted Singh as saying. He also called a meeting of 10 Maoist-affected states on May 8 to review measures to tackle what is described as India’s biggest internal security threat.
Speaking to reporters in Raipur, the minister called the ambush a “desperate attempt” to block development and said the government had taken the strike as a challenge.
“The naxals (Maoists) won’t succeed…we will revise and renew our strategy at a meeting on May 8,” he said after paying homage to the CRPF personnel at a wreath-laying ceremony.
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It is an act of desperation. We have accepted it as a challenge. We will review the strategy and if necessary we will revisit it