Army Deployment Must for Naxal-hit Chhattisgarh

Even if all strategies failed and the CRPF and CoBRA commandos could not prevent the rising naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh, the Centre is still averse to army deployment in the affected areas, fearing backlash and negative repercussions.

The Centre has dispatched 2,000 additional para-military forces to Chhattisgarh after 30 people, including many top Congress leaders and cadres were killed in the naxal attack at Darbha Ghati near Sukma on Saturday. However, Defence Minister AK Antony ruled out army deployment in the state, saying that was not needed.

Around 30,000 para-military personnel are already on duty in Chhattisgarh, which has been worst-hit by naxal menace in the last 8 years. At least 1900 people have lost lives during that period. Out of those, 570 were civilians, while 700 were security personnel.

While there have been frequent naxal attacks in the state, the deadly attack of Dantewada in 2010 in which 76 CRPF personnel were killed and the audacious attack on Congress convoy on Saturday, have forced many to think whether it’s the time to deploy Army to counter the naxal menace. Unless strong measures are taken, it would be difficult to prevent such incidents from occurring again.