THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Attempts by Maoists to establish a base at the tri-junction of Kerala-Karnataka-Tamil Nadu has not yet been successful, according to a latest report of the Ministry on Home Affairs. Periodic interdictions of senior Maoist leaders by security forces as well as demonetisation are cited as reasons for this. “Revival efforts by Maoists in Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border areas, establishment of a base at the tri-junction of Kerala-Karnataka-Tamil Nadu and formation of a new zone at the tri-junction of Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh did not meet the desired success due to periodic interdictions of senior leaders by the security forces. While extortion and levy activities by the Maoists continued, the demonetisation drive delivered a major dent to their finances,” says the annual report of MHA that was released recently.
The Centre has not yet considered Kerala as a Maoist affected state and hence the state may not get any special assistance for anti-Maoist activities. Though Union home minister Rajnath Singh had assured at a southern zonal council meeting held here in December 2016 that the Centre would consider state’s requests for funds for logistics support to deal with the Left Wing extremism, it has not yet materialised. “We have submitted many proposals to the Centre for providing support. We hope a favourable response from the Centre in wake of the assurance,” a senior police officer said.
The MHA report says that there has been decline in Left wing extremism related incidents over these years. While the number of Left wing extremism related incidents and deaths during 2016 was 1,048 and 278 respectively, it was 1,089 and 230 in 2015. Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra are considered as the most affected states. Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana are the other affected states.
