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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Gadchiroli SP declares Maoist menace ‘almost over’

Mumbai: In a resounding statement signalling a historic shift, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Neelotpal has declared the district, once the dark heart of the ‘Red Corridor,’ is on the verge of becoming completely free of the Naxal menace. The SP expressed absolute confidence in the complete eradication of the banned CPI (Maoist) presence, noting that the remaining cadres have dwindled to a mere handful. “There has been a sea change in the situation,” SP Neelotpal stated,...

Gadchiroli SP declares Maoist menace ‘almost over’

Mumbai: In a resounding statement signalling a historic shift, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) Neelotpal has declared the district, once the dark heart of the ‘Red Corridor,’ is on the verge of becoming completely free of the Naxal menace. The SP expressed absolute confidence in the complete eradication of the banned CPI (Maoist) presence, noting that the remaining cadres have dwindled to a mere handful. “There has been a sea change in the situation,” SP Neelotpal stated, highlighting the dramatic turnaround. He revealed that from approximately 100 Maoist cadres on record in January 2024, the number has plummeted to barely 10 individuals whose movements are now confined to a very small pocket of the Bhamragad sub-division in South Gadchiroli, near the Chhattisgarh border. “North Gadchiroli is now free of Maoism. The Maoists have to surrender and join the mainstream or face police action... there is no other option.” The SP attributes this success to a meticulously executed multi-pronged strategy encompassing intensified anti-Maoist operations, a robust Civic Action Programme, and the effective utilisation of Maharashtra’s attractive surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy. The Gadchiroli Police, especially the elite C-60 commandos, have achieved significant operational milestones. In the last three years alone, they have neutralised 43 hardcore Maoists and achieved a 100 per cent success rate in operations without police casualties for nearly five years. SP Neelotpal highlighted that the security forces have aggressively moved to close the “security vacuum,” which was once an estimated 3,000 square kilometres of unpoliced territory used by Maoists for training and transit. The establishment of eight new police camps/Forward Operating Bases (FoBs) since January 2023, including in the remote Abujhmad foothills, has been crucial in securing these areas permanently. Winning Hearts, Minds The Civic Action Programme has been deemed a “game changer” by the SP. Through schemes like ‘Police Dadalora Khidaki’ and ‘Project Udaan’, the police have transformed remote outposts into service delivery centres, providing essential government services and employment opportunities. This sustained outreach has successfully countered Maoist propaganda and, most critically, resulted in zero Maoist recruitment from Gadchiroli for the last few years. Surrender Wave The state’s progressive rehabilitation policy has seen a massive influx of surrenders. “One sentiment is common among all the surrendered cadres: that the movement has ended, it has lost public support, and without public support, no movement can sustain,” the SP noted. The surrender of key figures, notably that of Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias ‘Bhupathi,’ a CPI (Maoist) Politburo member, and his wife Sangeeta, was a “landmark development” that triggered a surrender wave. Since June 2024, over 126 Maoists have surrendered. The rehabilitation program offers land, housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and employment. Surrendered cadres are receiving skill training and are successfully transitioning into normal life, with around 70 already employed in the local Lloyds plant. A District Reborn The transformation of Gadchiroli is now moving beyond security concerns. With the decline of extremism, the district is rapidly moving towards development and normalcy. The implementation of development schemes, round-the-clock electricity, water supply, mobile towers, and new infrastructure like roads and bridges is being given top priority. He concludes that the police’s focus is now shifting from an anti-Maoist offensive to routine law-and-order policing, addressing new challenges like industrialisation, theft, and traffic management. With the Maoist movement in “complete disarray” and major strongholds like the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Special Zone collapsing, the SP is highly optimistic. Gadchiroli is not just getting rid of the Naxal menace; it is embracing its future as a developing, peaceful district, well on track to meet the central government’s goal of eradicating Naxalism by March 31, 2026.

Another episode of Fadnavis vs Pankaja

Updated: Nov 18, 2024

This time they differ over the BJP’s catchline, ‘Batenge to Katenge’


Fadnavis vs Pankaja

Mumbai: Though multiplicity of voices within Mahayuti over the ‘batenge to katenge’ slogan exposed cracks within the grand alliance, senior BJP leaders have said that attempts are being made to create confusion over the slogans because they have effectively countered the narrative spread by the Congress during the Lok Sabha elections.


BJP Rajya Sabha member and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan had said, “There is no relevance of this (slogan). Slogans are given at election time. This particular slogan is not in good taste and I don’t think people will appreciate it. Personally speaking, I am not in favour of such slogans.”


Another prominent leader from Marathwada, BJP MLC Pankaja Munde, too in an interview given to some news channels, had said, “Frankly, I won’t support it just because I belong to the same party. My belief is that we should work on development alone. A leader’s job is to make every living person on this land as our own. Therefore, we need not bring any such topic to Maharashtra.”


While DCM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, too had earlier voiced differences over this slogan saying that, “The North (India) may accept this, not us. We have people with different backgrounds in our state. I am of the opinion that such things should not be said.”


Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, however, while interacting with news channels, blamed the ‘pseudo secular’ environment in which the leaders were for the long time for their dislike towards the slogan and also said that they must not have realized the how positive those slogans are.


“In politics narratives need to be countered. In the Lok Sabha polls, Congress indulged in vote jihad. Fatwas were issued by maulvis and along with that, Congress created divisions along caste lines. That means on the one hand, they polarised Muslims, and on the other, divided Hindus. Historically whenever there was a division of society, the country was divided and society suffered. So, I think ‘batenge toh katenge’ and ‘ek hain toh safe hain’ are positive slogans for unity and there is nothing wrong with it,” Fadnavis said. “Ajit Pawar, Ashok Chavan come from a different ideology. They had been surrounded with pseudo-secular groups for a long time. Hence, they’re unable to understand the deeper meaning behind Yogi Adityanath’s ‘batenge to katenge’ call. We’ll help them understand,” he added.


Regarding Pankaja Munde, he said that he has spoken to her and she explained to him that she just wanted to project the work done by the Mahayuti government than to speak about the slogans and divisive forces in the society.


This is another chapter in the feud between Fadnavis and Pankaja which is going on since a decade when the former became the Chief Minister in 2014. When they were in the same government there was a public war of words between them over Twitter. Off late, Pankaja had announced that she was fighting a ‘Dharma Yuddha’ within the party. Without naming Fadnavis she had equated him with Kauravas who had ill-intension towards their cousins, the Pandavas.


Fadnavis also said that the slogans are very much relevant since the OBCs comprise of 350 castes while the STs comprise of 54 castes and the BJP has been appealing all these communities to stay united.

A senior RSS leader, who doesn’t want to be named, said that the slogans have effectively countered the narrative created by the Congress during Lok Sabha polls. “It is probably due to this that attempts are being made to create confusion over the slogans,” he added.

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