Harassment of non-tribal cadre eroded Maoists’ base in Andhra Pradesh, says DGP
The Hindu
Of the 48 members, 18 Maoists are operating in Andhra Pradesh, K.V. Rajendranath Reddy said
The killing of tribal people after branding them as police informers and the harassment and suppression of the Dalam members hailing from various tribal groups are the prime reasons behind the Maoists losing base in Andhra Pradesh and the neighbouring States, said Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) K.V. Rajendranath Reddy.
“The efforts of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of the CPI (Maoist) to convert the cut-off area into a guerrilla war zone have fallen flat,” he said.
“At present, there are 48 members of the Andhra Pradesh cadre in the CPI (Maoist). While 18 of them are in Andhra Pradesh, the remaining are working at various levels in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Telangana,” Mr. Reddy told The Hindu.
Mr. Reddy further said that the Maoists who had surrendered in the last few months admitted that the ideology of the CPI (Maoist) was fast fading and that many tribal leaders and Dalam members left the movement due to the “stepmotherly treatment and harassment by the leaders of the upper caste”.
A surrendered Maoist had said he joined the movement as Adivasis were being suppressed, but was bewildered on seeing the exploitation of the tribal people by the CPI (Maoist).
Top Maoist leaders such as Chikkudu Chinna Rao, Jalandhar Reddy and Killo Raju, who had surrendered, confirmed that tribal Dalam members were being harassed by the upper caste leaders in the party.
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.
The 16th edition of Bhoomi Habba was held on June 8, at the Visthar campus. The festival drew a vibrant crowd who came together to celebrate eco-consciousness through a variety of engaging activities, creative workshops, panel discussions, interactive exhibits and performances, all centered around this year’s theme: “Save Water, Save Lives.”