India - escalation of Modi's government against people's war

Narendra Modi government takes fight with Maoist to another level
Making a huge departure from UPA government’s policy in dealing with the Maoists, in the new Naxal policy that is being framed by the union home ministry, the BJP government has reserved the right to use “any element of its national power” against the CPI (Maoist). The “hawkish” change enumerated in the general principles of the new policy says, “The state is duty bound to resolutely deal with the Maoist violence and reserves the right to use any element of its national power against the outfit as the situation warrants.” Union home minister Rajnath Singh was reviewing the draft of the Maoist policy periodically during the past three months of its preparation.
Describing “any element of national power” a senior officials said, “any element obviously would mean whatever power comes under the command of the State – be it Army, Air Force or any other option but it would be requisitioned only if the situation warrants.” During the UPA regime, even the Chidambaram doctrine, that was considered to be security heavy, had rejected the use of Army and Air Force during the worst of massacres by the Maoists, including the one at Chintagufa in Bastar where 76 CRPF jawans were brutally killed by the Maoists in an ambush. Condemning the policy, noted tribal rights activist, Dr BD Sharma, who served as a commissioner in undivided Bastar said, “It should condemned in absolute terms. Its annihilation of your own people. No democratic government should launch a war against its own people.”
People’s rights activist, Gautam Naulakha said, “There is nothing surprising in it. The government is escalating the war against its own people and giving carte blanche to the forces. I hope the Army will realise the futility of it once such option comes to it as it will degrade their reputation internationally. The ministry of defence had rejected a similar request made by the MHA during Chidambaram’s tenure as home minister. But it will not be easy to put such a policy on the ground as rhetoric and jingoism is different and ground realities are different.”