CM Blames Centre For Not Sanctioning Central Forces To State

File image of central forces doing duty in Maoist-hit areas.

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday blamed the Centre
for not sanctioning central forces to tackle Maoism in the state.

“The people of Odisha do not support violent activities and the
LWE (left wing extremism) cadre have no local base. Our problem is mostly caused by infiltration from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand as well as from Andhra
Pradesh. The asymmetric deployment of central forces on Chhattisgarh
border is a major issue towards which we have drawn the Central
Government’s attention. However, as usual our repeated requests for
additional deployment of central forces has not been considered so
far,” the Chief Minister stated in the House. “The commitment of my government to eliminate LWE menace is reflected in our determined efforts to complete the most challenging Gurupriya Bridge in spite of Centre not giving adequate funds. I am hopeful in a few months from now the cut-off areas will have connectivity,” he added.

Odisha has remained by and large peaceful with no major
law and order situation on any front. The overall crime situation has
also remained under control. There has been a substantial improvement
in the LWE scenario in the state. Improvement of police infrastructure, recruitment of armed personnel, specialized training and a progressive policy of surrender and rehabilitation have led to substantial improvement in the situation, he said.

Stating that his government has always given priority towards preventing crime against vulnerable sections of the society, especially women,
children, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, Naveen said, “We have
taken proactive steps to improve the criminal justice system, by way of
direct recruitment of additional public prosecutors, establishment of Mahila and Sishu Desks, specialized units for crime against women and monitoring of Red Flag cases. In fact wherever any negligence is noticed, tough and exemplary action has been taken by my government,” he added.