Describing the Naxal problem as the gravest challenge facing India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday asked all States facing Maoist menace to appoint as District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police such officers who have the ‘zeal’ to fight the rebels. Addressing the Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) meeting here, Singh said that without peace and security, development would not come to the country and ensuring security for everyone is the primary objective of the Government, he said.
“I want to appeal to all Maoist-hit States to appoint those officers who have the zeal to to fight the Maoists as DMs and SPs,” he said in the presence of Chief Ministers of Bihar and Jharkhand Jitan Ram Manjhi and Raghubar Das. Chief Ministers of Odisha and West Bengal were not present in the meeting. Both States were represented by Ministers incharge of Home.
Singh said it would be difficult to control Naxal violence without proper leadership and, therefore, it is necessary to appoint good officers in Naxal-affected districts. Maoist violence is the gravest problem facing the country and the Central and State Governments must fight it together, the Home Minister maintained. “I want to assure all necessary help from the Central Government in this task,” he said.
Bihar Chief Minister Manjhi raising the demand of special category status said despite achieving double digit GDP and increasing per capita income higher than the national average, the State remains at the bottom of the development indexes. Bihar is still behind other developing States in poverty ratio, BPl population, industrialisation and infrastructure development. “There are other States too apart from Bihar facing these hardships and there is urgent need for a policy to accelerate pace of development in these States. Bihar and other backwards should be accorded special category status to bring them at par with the developed States including those which had earlier granted special status,” said Manjhi.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das sought Centre’s assistance in pushing up the development projects which were delayed due to political instability in his State. He said deployment of Central forces should be strengthened in view of the threat perception from the left extremists in the Red zones of Jharkhand.
The Union Home Minister said that the zonal council meetings were an ideal forum for resolving common problems faced by the States and steps would be taken to convene it regularly, possibly every six months. The zonal councils are headed by the Union Home Minister and each zone nominates one Chief Minister as its vice-chairman on a rotation basis.
The zonal councils are a forum where issues between the Centre and the States, as also those between the States themselves, can be resolved through free and frank discussions and consultations. Being advisory bodies, there is full scope for free and frank exchange of views at such meetings.
The States have been divided into five zones and each zone has its council comprising the Chief Minister, two Ministers and chief secretary of each State. The meeting of the Central Zonal Council will be held on Monday in lucknow. Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are members of that council.