A day, after the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party sought protection for its Parivartan Yatra, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday, said that all political events will get full security in the Naxal-affected areas of the state ahead of elections.
The BJP on Friday submitted a letter to the state’s Director General of Police seeking protection for its Yatra which is scheduled to start from the Naxal-affected Dantewada on September 12.
It did not have faith in the Congress government in the state, it said, claiming that BJP leaders were being targeted and killed in the Bastar region.
Assembly elections are due in the state by the year-end.
Asked about it on the sidelines of an event here, Baghel said, “Complete security will be provided to all political parties. We have lost our leaders in Jhiram Ghati in 2013.
“During the recent meeting of the unified command (of security forces), we have clearly directed that all the political programmes should be provided full protection in Naxal-affected areas,” he told reporters.
Maoists had attacked a convoy of Congress leaders during the party’s ‘Parivartan Rally’ in the Jhiram valley in Bastar district on May 25, 2013, ahead of the assembly polls, killing 29 people including then state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, former leader of opposition Mahendra Karma and former Union minister V C Shukla.
Asked about the ongoing G-20 summit, Baghel said, “When (former prime minister) Indira Gandhi had hosted a convention, the heads of more than 100 countries attended it. Some heads of state are not attending this event. Even the opposition has not been invited….Till now no results of the meeting are visible, we will see what is its outcome in the coming days.” On Friday, when asked by reporters whether he would attend a G-20 dinner scheduled for Saturday, Baghel had said he could not go as no-flying zone has been declared in Delhi.
The Union home ministry on Saturday said no restrictions have been imposed on travel by the governors and chief ministers to Delhi or its nearby areas in their state aircraft.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI)
