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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.

Constitutional Overreach?

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

India’s Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar recently launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over remarks the latter made in the United States, accusing Gandhi of undermining the Indian Constitution. Gandhi, no stranger to controversy, has often aimed his verbal salvos at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with his overseas speeches being thinly-veiled criticisms of India’s democratic fabric under the Modi administration. But the Vice-President’s public remarks has raised an important constitutional question: Should a figure occupying one of the highest apolitical offices in the land act as a de facto spokesperson for the ruling party?

Vice-presidents are meant to embody neutrality. According to the Constitution, India’s Vice-President, like its President, is expected to rise above partisan squabbles, representing the entire polity rather than a single faction. The office of the Vice-President holds a unique position—it is second only to the President, and also serves as the chair of the Rajya Sabha, or the upper house of Parliament. In this role, impartiality is critical to maintain the balance of power between the government and the opposition.

Yet Dhankhar’s outburst against Gandhi hints at a troubling erosion of this impartiality. While the Congress leader’s comments about India’s democracy and Constitution may warrant scrutiny, the Vice-President’s role is not to censure political figures but to uphold the dignity of his office and the constitutional values he is tasked with safeguarding. When a vice-president adopts the language of a party loyalist, it undermines not only the office he holds but the very essence of India’s democratic institutions.

This is not an isolated case. Indian politics has a long history of its vice-presidents showing leanings towards the ruling establishment. In the late 1970s, Vice-President B.D. Jatti, who briefly acted as President, was criticized for his perceived proximity to the ruling Congress party under Indira Gandhi, especially during the Emergency. Similarly, Gopal Swarup Pathak, Vice-President from 1969 to 1974, was accused of leaning towards Congress when he controversially withheld assent for a crucial bill, allegedly under pressure from the ruling party.

More recently, Hamid Ansari, who served as Vice-President from 2007 to 2017, was frequently targeted by the BJP for allegedly displaying a ‘pro-Muslim’ bias, though Ansari himself consistently maintained his commitment to the Constitution. To be sure, the criticisms Gandhi made abroad may well have crossed the line of diplomatic propriety, but such remarks should ideally be rebuffed by government ministers or party leaders—not the Vice-President. By involving himself in the day-to-day political fray, Dhankhar risks reducing his office to just another tool in the hands of the ruling establishment. Ultimately, the Vice-President is not a partisan warrior but a custodian of constitutional values. Regardless of whether Rahul Gandhi’s criticisms of the government deserve rebuke, it is not the Vice-President’s role to deliver it. When they act as political enforcers, they not only diminish their own role but also erode the public’s trust in India’s constitutional institutions.

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