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Disband Salwa Judum, CPI urges Prime Minister

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Saturday urged the Centre to immediately disband the Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh and stop aiding and abetting it in the name of promoting “local resistance groups.”

In a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a CPI delegation, led by party general secretary A.B. Bardhan, demanded institution of a high level independent inquiry into all acts of violence, rape, arson, loot, murder and disappearances involving the Salwa Judum and para-military forces.

Other members of the delegation were D. Raja and Gurudas Dasgupta, both party MPs.

The delegation also urged the Prime Minister to allow the thousands of Adivasis, who have fled, to return home to their villages.

“Wherever house and property have been destroyed and damaged, the government should rebuild them and guarantee the Adivasis’ rehabilitation,” the memorandum said.

The CPI leaders pointed out that the Planning Commission in its report had admitted that the rise of naxalism was a “political movement with a strong base among the poor peasantry and Adivasis” and also took note of recent observations on the Salwa Judum made by the Supreme Court.

The Planning Commission report also ascribed the growth of naxalism to people’s discontent and complete failure of the system and asked for immediate winding up of the Salwa Judum, the memorandum said.

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