Maoist end game near, but no political fanfare. india news
New Delhi: The March 31 deadline set by Home Minister Amit Shah to eliminate Left Wing Extremism (LWE) from the country is likely to pass without any change, having served its objective of creating the right psychological mindset among all stakeholders – security and police forces, local administration, political officials of the affected states, Maoist leadership and cadre and common people.Sources said even though the March 31 deadline has dominated the discussion on Left Wing Extremism for the last one-and-a-half year, there is unlikely to be any victory march or chest-beating on the actual date. At most, there may be references to it in political speeches and public addresses of dignitaries, especially during visits to states that were once affected by Left Wing Extremism.
“The objective of the deadline was to set a definite target… so that all hands are ready and the anti-Naxal machinery can work in mission mode, as well as time-bound planning of operations to eliminate the leadership and launch initiatives aimed at rehabilitation of former Maoists and reconstruction of villages…” said a central government official.The results are clear for all to see: the entire CPI (Maoist) leadership – except for one Politburo member, Misir Besra, and a key commander, Papa Rao – has either been neutralized or surrendered. The CPI (Maoist) is no longer a united entity but a loose group hiding in the forests.Chhattisgarh Police Inspector General (Bastar Range) P Sundarraj told TOI, “Apparently, the deadline created psychological pressure to decide between facing bullets and taking the chance to live a normal life… As soon as senior colleagues got hit by bullets, the remaining Politburo and Central Committee members started leaning towards the latter option.”