Non-political families dominate Cong second rung
New Delhi: At least 30 out of 44 new secretaries appointed to assist senior Congress officebearers in different states are first-generation politicians, signalling a shift in the grand old party’s organisational structure, in line with a speech made last month by newly-anointed president, Rahul Gandhi.
Approximately 70 other young leaders have been shortlisted for similar responsibilities in the second rung of leadership in an ongoing reshuffle in the party, according to Congress functionaries familiar with the development.
The 47-year-old Rahul Gandhi, in a speech at the Congress plenary in Delhi on March 18, had said that one of his main priorities was to “break the wall between workers and leaders” and to bring people sitting on the back benches to the front lines.
Some of the first-generation politicians picked by Rahul Gandhi are Prakash Joshi from Uttarakhand, Manickam Tagore from Tamil Nadu, PC Vishunadh from Kerala, Chandan Yadav from Bihar, Shaikh Mastan Vali from Andhra Pradesh, Jitu Patwari from Madhya Pradesh and Zubair Khan from Rajasthan.
“Rahul-ji has maintained that the political system can be changed only if more and more young people join politics. He has also ensured that the doors of the Congress party remain open for the common people and first generation leaders. He has kept his promise,” said Prakash Joshi, who now assists senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in managing party affairs in UP.
RAIPUR : Two more Maoists were killed by security forces in Sukma in south Bastar on Saturday, taking the numbers of rebels gunned down in the past week to 49. Chhattisgarh police has killed 10 Maoists in the last two days in south and west Bastar, while Maharashtra police had gunned down 39 in Gadchiroli on Sunday and Monday.
Police officials familiar with the matter said that Maoists are re-grouping in the Bastar region for an “assault on security forces”. A red alert has been issued in the districts of Chhattisgarh adjoining Maharashtra and Telangana. Forces are conducting operations in Bijapur and Sukma, from where they got inputs of the Maoists regrouping and planning an attack.
“We have information that three Maoists escaped after the Gadhchiroli encounter and the Maoists of the nearby areas are heading towards Bijapur and Kanker districts of Chhattisgarh,” said a Bastar-based Indian Police Service officer, who was not willing to be identified.
The IPS officer said the security forces are not giving any space for Maoists to counter-attack and special operations are underway in several districts of Bastar region, known to be a hot-
bed of the Maoists.
“Currently we are fighting a straight battle in both Bijapur and Sukma because we have information that Maoists are trying to congregate at several places after Gandhchiroli attack. Hence, engaging them is the best tactic and we have so far been successful,” said special director general (anti-Naxal operations), DM Awasthi.
As part of operations, the security
forces killed two Maoists in Duled area of south Sukma in a two-hour operation on Saturday morning. “So far, the bodies of two Maoists, including a woman, have been recovered along with 11 weapons,” said Sundarraj P, deputy inspector general of police (south Bastar range).
Separate teams of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), the Special Task Force (STF) and the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), were carrying out combing operations in Sukma, located around 400 km from the state capital Raipur, for the past couple of days, he said.
Police officers familiar with the matter said intelligencebased operations have been launched at many places in Bijapur and south Sukma districts and that Saturday’s operation was a result of that.
In Sukma, the Maoist battalion is headed by Mandvi Hidma, who in March was said to be behind the deadly attack in which nine CRPF personnel were killed. The regional command committee of the Maoists in Bijapur is headed by Harishankar and Damodar.
“Both these armed battalion comprises more than 400 heavily armed Maoist cadre. During any major attack on security forces, they work together,” a police officer said.
IN SUKMA, THE MAOIST BATTALION IS HEADED BY MANDVI HIDMA, WHO IN MARCH WAS SAID TO BE BEHIND THE DEADLY ATTACK IN WHICH NINE CRPF PERSONNEL WERE KILLED