'Salwa Judum fought Reds in a Gandhian way'

In his first interview since the Supreme Court ordered disbanding of special police officers (SPOs), a belligerent Chhattisgarh CM, Raman Singh, speaks to TOI's Supriya Sharma and defends his government's record of fighting Maoists and giving compensation to farmers selling their land for development — both of which have come under criticism. Excerpts:

Do you consider the Supreme Court order a major embarrassment for your government?

We have decided to file a review petition. Chhattisgarh is not the only state with SPOs. There are 40,000 SPOs in six states. We have only around 5,000. The way the role of SPOs has been curtailed has serious repercussions for all the states.

The court said your government is perpetuating "a regime of gross violations of human rights" and pursuing "policies of ruthless violence". These are strong words.

I choose not to comment.

Do you accept Salwa Judum was a mistake?

Salwa Judum was a peace movement started by the people of Bastar. It was not my government's creation. It was a movement by people who stood up against Naxalism in a very Gandhian way.


But your own statistics show it escalated violence.

That was because the Maoists reacted badly. Any group that rebels against them is brutally crushed. Killing innocent people in refugee camps is the worst kind of terrorism.

But in that situation, was it not your government's responsibility to provide them security, instead of giving firearms?

Civilians were not given guns. Tribal youth were formally taken on as part of police. They were trained and then given firearms for self-protection. Since they act as guides to the police, they need to carry weapons. They can't be expected to walk in the jungle holding a stick.

But what about your inability to discipline them? In March, SPOs went on the rampage in Dantewada, indulging in arson, rape and murder in three villages.

Maoists commit thousands of atrocities but no one bothers to write about them. No journalist or intellectual cares to meet the orphans and widows of Maoist violence. If the victims stand up to fight, they raise an outcry. No one understands local people are keen to join this fight against Maoists, since this a battle against those who block their development. As for the incidents you mention, an HC investigation is on, as well as one by the CBI.

But where development funds are being spent, the outcomes are poor, largely since the funds are being siphoned off by a corrupt bureaucracy and political class. This paper has reported how even your flagship food programme of Rs 2 per kg rice is faltering in Konta, Dantewada.

I am not claiming I have brought 100% Ram rajya. There are problems of monitoring in places like Dantewada. But we are trying hard. We are sending our best officers there as collectors. We are committed to bringing the same fruit of development to the conflict areas as people in other parts of the state enjoy.

Another kind of unrest is brewing in north Chhattisgarh, over displacement by mining and the dispossession of the poor. This paper reported how the home minister's son was cheating tribal farmers to acquire land for a Videocon power project.

The district collector has cancelled the sale of land. As far as the wider picture goes, we have increased the slab of minimum compensation from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh to Rs 6 to Rs 10 lakh per acre.