BJPians insured for poll prep, Cong says no govt in Bastar

Raipur, October 01, 2013

Pointing that BJPians were fudging to work at grassroot level in Bastar for poll preparations, Congress on Tuesday reiterated that the government was non-existent in naxal-dominated tribal region.

“It is the adverse condition in Bastar that prompted BJP MLA from Jagdalpur Santosh Bafna to insure about 225 party workers (from Nangur and Darbha mandals) to intensify election preparations in his constituency. The insurance cover of each worker is Rs five lakh. For the first time in the history of the country any Party MLA has resorted to insurance of his workers to enhance his poll victory chances in disturbed areas. Bafna’s move also exposes his government’s claims of adequate security arrangements in Bastar ahead of polls,” said member of PCC’s research and social media department Bhujit Doshi.

“Even senior IPS official SRP Kalluri has admitted that the government and police were non-existent in Bastar. In the past, former DGP of Punjab KPS Gill, who was appointed as an advisor by Chhattisgarh government on naxal issues, had claimed that chief minister Raman Singh had asked him to sit back and earn salary,” he said.

“In ten years of BJP regime, the Maoists expanded by tenfold in Chhattisgarh. Consequently, the BJP workers too are refraining from getting engaged in poll sans insurance,” he said.

“Now, if the insurance premium has been incurred by Bafna then the amount should be appended to his overall expenditure on upcoming assembly polls. If the premium has been paid by the BJP then it should not deprive other workers from insurance benefit. In case, the government decided to cough up the sum for BJPians then it must do it for every resident of Chhattisgarh,” he said.

Lashing at the government for failing to curb extremists despite receiving massive fund from Centre in last one decade, Doshi said ruling BJP did nothing except holding UPA government responsible for every Maoist incident in state.

“The Centre did every bit to help Chhattisgarh in dealing ultras. Presently, there are about 50000 security personnel pressed in naxal-hit areas to carry counter-insurgency operations. It was the Congress-led Centre that increased insurance cover of jawans from Rs two lakh to Rs ten lakh in 2005. Nonetheless, the state government could not bring peace in Bastar,” he said.