Security ... think about it!
I am more convinced than ever after Dantewada that focusing on security issues to the exclusion of all other relevant factors is a one-eyed policy.Nothing will succeed against the Maoists unless we open up our second eye.I organised Rajiv Gandhi's many tours to the peripheries of India.It is ironic that his very first tour was to the Dantewada area,further south towards Konta,which has now become inaccessible.Through those years,I saw the way in which he interacted with tribals and learned what their grievances were and how to resolve them.
...There has been a grave tragedy and I did not lose my nerve, I did not lose my will. I have no fear. I do not fear the Naxalites. But if a horrible tragedy took place, I think, it is the moral responsibility of the minister to tender his resignation. And therefore, I tendered my resignation. ...The prime minister and the UPA Chairperson have rejected my resignation...
District administrations of Jagdalpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur and Kanker, all part of undivided Bastar which was once one of the largest districts in the country, have informed senior officials in Raipur that it will be difficult for them to carry out the census exercise — counting of people, collection of biometric data for preparation of the National Population Register — in many areas in view of the Naxal threat.
