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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.

RSS vetoes Amit Shah's elevation 

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Mumbai: The BJP is unlikely to get its National President anytime soon as the RSS has refused to budge and has vetoed the elevation of Amit Shah or his favorites in the party, sources have said.


Top RSS office bearers had a closed-door meeting at the organisation's headquarters at Reshimbag in Nagpur over the weekend. Apart from organisational issues and issues related to preparations of the centenary celebrations, the top brass discussed issues related to proposed changes in the union cabinet, BJP national president's election, Vice President's election and the desired changes in the BJP organisation.


The key take away from the deliberations was that henceforth all the major appointments in the BJP or the government will have to get a clearance from the RSS. It was also decided that the BJP will have to mould the party organisation on the lines of other Parivar member organisations wherein the decision-making is democratic and organisation-centric rather than autocratic and personality-centric, said the sources.

 

Organisation supreme

During the expansion-mode of the party several elements have creeped in in the party who are not used to the democratic and organization-centric processes, the RSS high command observed and opined that desired character in the organisation will have to be built from the grassroots to the top.


While expressing full confidence in the leadership of and support to PM Narendra Modi, the RSS high command is also said to have vetoed the elevation of Amit Shah or his favorites in the party.

 

The sources described this stand off as the "war of nerves" between the RSS high command and the BJP top brass and added that the RSS high command has indicated that it is in no hurry and that it is unlikely to budge.

 

Dhankhar, the trigger

The tough stand of the RSS high command is said to have been triggered by the recent resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, a turn coat. The high command was also not very pleased with the outcome of the party's experiments with Satyapal Malik, who was made the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Due to such unpleasant experiences, it has now been decided that at least the statutory posts would go only to those who are firmly rooted in the RSS-ideology and way of functioning.

 

According to the RSS top brass, since the government under the BJP at the centre doesn't face any significant immediate threat, the period needs to be utilised as the consolidation phase wherein ideological purity should be given primacy over the political astuteness while electing the key individuals within the party and the government. However, it was also made clear that the BJP will have to carry out the whole process.

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