The UPA government in 2013 told the Supreme Court that academicians and activists in urban centres control outfits “organically linked” CPI(Maoist) under the cover of human rights. In a counter affidavit, it said Urban Naxals were “more dangerous than cadres of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA)”.
Urban Naxals create echo chambers and conducive environment for nefarious forces to carry out their activities, it said. The Times of India reports: The home ministry then with Sushil Kumar Shinde conceded that initiating legal proceedings against these “ideologues, including academicians and activists” often resulted in the negative publicity for enforcement agencies due to the effectiveness of the Maoist propaganda machinery.
During UPA regime, some of those who are now under house arrest, were arrested and served jail term. They were convicted in some cases also. Sections in the mainstream media also provide cover to these Urban Naxals. For instance, Anand Teltumbde is projected as a Human Rights activist and an academic who at one time taught at IIT Kharagpur. His brother Milind is one of the top functionaries of banned CPI(Maoist). Anand has been an overground supporter of Maoists. His numerous articles some published in mainstream media and Maoist publications show where his loyalty lies. But what is more worrying is the presence of people like him who espouse a dangerous philosophy allowed to operate in one of the prestigious educational institutions of the country.
Vermon Gonsalves, Central Committee member of the CPI(Maoist) was arrested during August 2007. He was earlier convicted by the court under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for being a member of a banned terrorist outfit and was released in 2013 after serving his jail term. He is being projected in the mainstream media as a Rights Activist even after having served jail term for being a member of a terrorist outfit and possessing explosives. Interestingly, Vermon is married to Susan Abraham, advocate and activist of Indian Association of Peoples, which is a front of CPI (Maoist). Varavara Rao was jailed for 2 yrs for waging a war. He infamously said, “You can’t fight a system without taking arms in your hands.” Arun Ferreira was arrested in 2007. Gautam Navlakha has supported Referendum in Kashmir and has been prevented from entering Kashmir and been detained u/s 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Sudha Baradwaj fights cases of only Naxals and terrorists in courts. Rona Jacob Wilson was arrested from Delhi in June in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence in Maharashtra in January this year.
As said earlier, the Maoists have built huge clout in the media and academic institutions. During the five decades of Congress rule the Leftists have penetrated into the academic institutions with their dangerous philosophy of breaking India. Eminent thinker Dr David Frawley says: “Without Urban Naxalites and leftist professors, the Naxalite movement would have never started. They radicalize unsuspecting students to serve as their soldiers against the government they are opposed to.”
The Congress and opposition parties have started a campaign against the Modi government, saying that it wants to silence dissent by arresting these Urban Naxals. It is the same Congress whose top leadership in Chhattisgarh was eliminated by Maoists a few years ago. Senior Congress leaders like P Chidambaram had identified Maoists as the biggest internal security threat. The Maoists do not believe in democracy or the Constitution. Many tribal areas in India remain undeveloped because of huge Maoist presence. They had killed or kidnapped government officials, civil society activists who tried to do good for the people of the region under their control. Successive governments were also responsible for the plight of the people which allowed Maoists to dig their heels in these areas.
The Congress and other political parties should desist from attacking the Modi government over the crackdown on Maoists. Maoists are a threat to the country. Data show that ever since the Modi government took over, their earnings have come down. They are under severe pressure. That is why they were targeting Prime Minister Modi.
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