Chhattisgarh Dy CM slams pro-Hidma slogans raised at Delhi protest

Raipur, Nov 24 (PTI) Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma on Monday criticised slogans lauding slain Maoist leader Madvi Hidma allegedly raised during a protest in Delhi, saying people can't be misled with "imaginary narratives" about Bastar, which was deprived of development due to Naxalism.

Top Naxalite commander Hidma, who hailed from Puvarti village in Sukma district, was killed in an encounter in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on November 18, a breakthrough the Chhattisgarh police described as the "last nail in the coffin" of the insurgency in the Dandakaranya region.

On Sunday, some protesters allegedly raised slogans hailing Hidma during a demonstration at the India Gate over the rising air pollution in the national capital.

Speaking to reporters, Sharma, who also holds the Home portfolio, said, "I have seen the video. They are young children (protesters) filled with emotions that aren't favourable. They were saying that sustainable farming is done through 'Jantana Sarkar' (by Naxalites). They have neither seen it (Bastar) nor understood it." He slammed the protesters, saying that by sitting in Delhi, they cannot "mislead others with imaginary narratives" about Bastar.

"If they want to know the reality, they are welcome to visit Bastar. Inform me and I will arrange everything. Meet a 25-year-old man in Bastar who saw a television for the first time in his life. There were no schools, hospitals, anganwadis, electricity, or roads (due to Naxalism). Work has only recently been started to provide these facilities in remote villages," the deputy chief minister said.

He said that while it is important to question the government, "it's better to understand the things before speaking. It's not appropriate to speak based on hearsay".

Reiterating that Maoism can never be justified, he said, "If a government is formed out of the barrel of a gun, it will speak only through guns. Such a system should never exist. Protecting democracy and running the country according to the Constitution is our foremost duty." Sharma said protesters should see what happened in China's Tiananmen Square and during Mao's Cultural Revolution.

"Look at how the Cultural Revolution spilt blood and how many lives were lost during the Long March. Both Lenin and Mao formed governments, but the outcome was authoritarianism. Such governments crush everything. Democracy ends," he said. PTI TKP ARU