Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday requested the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to waive off an alleged debt of Rs10,000 crore on Jharkhand to be paid in exchange of the deployment of central security forces in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts of the tribal State.
Addressing a meeting of the chief ministers of LWE-hit states chaired by home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, Soren said that the demand for money in exchange of providing security forces to the states was “unbecoming” of the Centre as the states and the Centre were unitedly fighting against the LWE menace.
“Following the ideology of cooperative federalism, the states and the Centre should jointly work against left wing extremism,” said Soren. “I have been informed that the Ministry of Home Affairs has raised a bill of Rs10,000 crore for providing Central security forces to Jharkhand. I would request the centre to write-off this bill and refrain from raising such bills in future as well,” he added.
Talking about the various schemes run by the Centre to combat LWE violence in the state, Soren said that while these schemes benefited the states in their fight against extremism, the abrupt discontinuation of such schemes proved to be a stumbling block in the state’s progress in eradication of left wing extremism.
“I do not know on what parameters the government decides to discontinue such schemes in some districts. But I would like to inform you all that a drop in LWE incidents does not necessarily mean the end of extremism in any particular area,” the CM said.
While Soren raised his objection to some of the decisions taken by the Centre, he also lauded the joint efforts of the central forces and Jharkhand police in curbing left wing extremism in the state.
Hardcore LWE rebels, Soren said, were restricted to four areas in the state – Parasnath Pahad, Budha Pahad, Saraikela-Khunti-Chaibasa tri-junction and some bordering areas of Jharkhand and Bihar. He attributed this success to the intensive operations run by the central and State police forces.
“I am confident that if we continue our ongoing operations effectively, then we will succeed in wiping out LWE rebels from their hideouts too,” he said.
Sharing State-specific LWE data with the home ministry, Soren highlighted that the number of LWE incidents in Jharkhand has dropped significantly from 196 in the year 2016 to 126 in 2020. The number of civil casualties reported in LWE incidents also dropped to 61 in 2016 to 28 in 2020, he added.
At least 715 LWE insurgents, including one special area committee member, one regional committee member and 12 zonal commanders, were arrested by the police and security forces in Jharkhand from 2016 to 2020, the Jharkhand CM said, appreciating the efforts of security forces. As many as 18 rebels were also neutralised during this period, he added.
The Chief Minister also sought the support of the Chhattisgarh Government in conducting combing operations at one of the largest hideouts of the CPI (Maoist) in Jharkhand, Budha Pahad. Since a major portion of Budha Pahad fell in Chhattisgarh’s territory, the two States should make joint efforts in running anti-insurgency operations there, he said.
In a bid to cut the revenue sources of the LWE rebels, the Jharkhand Government has been running intensive operations for destruction of opium, which is said to be one of the major sources of revenue for the rebels, the CM said, adding that properties of rebel leaders worth several crores have also been seized in the State.
Soren opined that bringing in development in the LWE-hit areas was as important as bringing an end to extremism, for which the Government should focus on improving education and connectivity in the far-flung areas of the State.