The Naxals carried out the Bijapur attack to assert their presence since the people of the region were growing disenchanted with them and were joining the mainstream because of steady developmental work done by the State government, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said.
“With more and more developmental work, health, education and other facilities have become accessible and people in these areas no longer want to be with the Naxals. They are now disenchanted. Which is why the Naxals carried out this attack to make their presence known,” Mr. Baghel said. He also spoke to the Home Minister Amit Shah in the morning. Mr. Baghel is in Assam and has cut short his visit to return to Raipur to take stock of the situation.
“The State government is not afraid of such attacks and is determined to carry out development work in each and every village,” Mr. Baghel said.
Meanwhile, Bastar MP and Congress leader Deepak Baij said that the Naxal activity had increased in past few months and the Central intelligence agencies should have been more active. “This is a failure of the Central intelligence agencies. Naxal activity had increased over last few months. I believe the Centre should have better cooperation with the State government,” Mr. Baij said.
