A senior minister in the Raman Singh Cabinet has triggered a controversy by making a “weird and insensitive” statement on the May 25 gory incident at Jiram Ghati in Bastar district in which frontline leaders of Chhatttisgarh unit of Congress were eliminated by Naxals.
State higher education minister Ram Vichar Netam raised many eyebrows when he said, “Who asked them (Congress leaders) to visit Darbha, a hyper-sensitive Naxal area in Bastar region? Congress leaders should have been cautious while visiting a Naxal-infested area”.
He was addressing a public meeting at Ambikapur late on Friday evening. Incidentally, chief minister Raman Singh was also present on the occasion.
Criticising Congress for blaming state government for security lapse leading to the tragedy, he said, “Did BJP leaders tell them to go there? BJP cannot be blamed if something goes wrong in someone’s house. Congress is blaming us as if we were present at Darbha during the Naxal attack”.
He added, “Congress has raised a hue and cry following the Darbha incident. But, the party has hardly ever showed concern for the security personnel killed by Maoists in Bastar”.
The Congress took serious exception to Mr Netam’s remarks, describing it “weird and insensitive”. “The chief minister who was present on the occasion should clarify whether he also holds the same view”, Congress spokesman S.N. Trivedy observed here on Saturday.