BJP blames centre, Jharkhand for bloody Maoist attack

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday blamed the central and the Jharkhand governments for the bloody Maoist attack in the state in which 17 people, including BJP MP Babulal Marandi's son, were killed.

"There is no government in Jharkhand to protect its citizens. The chief minister (Madhu Koda) is too busy securing his own position and the ruling coalition is busy with rallies. It is so unfortunate that the people are left out in the lurch," senior BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said here.

Former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi's son Anup was among 17 people gunned down by the Maoists around 1 a.m. Saturday at Chilkhadia village in Giridih district of Jharkhand. Around 50 rebels, including women, reportedly attacked the village during a cultural programme.

"Both the centre and the state are responsible for the death of these innocents. They are not doing anything to control the Maoist rebellion," Hussain, MP from Bihar's Bhagalpur, said.

He described Koda as "useless" and union Home Minister Shivraj Patil as "good for nothing".

Marandi, spoke in Ranchi after the attack, alleged that neither the Jharkhand government nor the central government had any policy to tackle the rising Maoist attacks. "My family has been a target of the Naxals... They should be more careful," he said.

However, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), an ally of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in Jharkhand, said the deceased had not paid any heed to repeated warnings of the state government.

"There were clear warnings that people should not gather in remote areas without proper police protection. Marandi's family had been given special instructions by the police as there were threats against them," Dhirendra Aggarwal, RJD MP from Jharkhand, said.

Expressing shock over the incident, Aggarwal said that no government could end the Maoist menace overnight. "The central government has been taking various steps to economically empower the state. The real issue that pushes people into this kind of rebellion is poverty.

"During the previous BJP rule, poor people in the remote areas did not get any benefit of development due to corruption. Education, employment and economic empowerment play a major role in resolving the issue," Aggarwal said.

In March, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and Lok Sabha MP Sunil Mahato was shot dead by Maoists in Ghatshila near Jamshedpur.