On April 4, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi posted a condolence message on Twitter over the Maoist attack on security forces in Chhattishgarh, in which he urged the state government to take action to locate and rescue the missing Jawans. He also appealed to the Chhattishgarh Government to ensure the best care for the injured. He said, “My condolences to the families of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in combat in Chhattisgarh. Decisive action needs to be taken to locate & rescue the missing Jawans. I appeal to the State Govt to ensure best care for a speedy recovery of the injured.”
My condolences to the families of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in combat in Chhattisgarh.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 4, 2021
Decisive action needs to be taken to locate & rescue the missing Jawans.
I appeal to the State Govt to ensure best care for a speedy recovery of the injured.
Gandhi forgot to mention Naxals or left-wing terrorism
While urging the Congress-led Chhattisgarh government to take swift action to rescue the missing Jawans and ensure arrangements for the speedy recovery of the injured, Gandhi completely forgot to mention the Naxals who were behind the attack. It is unclear if the Congress leader skipped mentioning left-wing terrorism intentionally or unintentionally. Notably, Congress is contesting West Bengal Assembly elections in alliance with left parties.
Rahul Gandhi also refrained from advising his party’s government in the state to take strong action to contain red-terror in the state.
The Naxal attack
On April 3, reportedly, many Naxals ambushed the CRPF party and killed at least 22 Jawans and injured several Jawans. Several of them were part of the CoBRA (Commando Battalions for Resolute Action) unit. The others were part of the Bastariya Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the District Reserve Guard (DRG). In ongoing operations, around 15 Maoists have killed in the last two days.
22 security personnel have lost their lives in the Naxal attack at Sukma-Bijapur in Chhattisgarh, says SP Bijapur, Kamalochan Kashyap
— ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2021
Visuals from the Sukma-Bijapur Naxal attack site pic.twitter.com/C3VvAdvjaN
Naxal activities in Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh has been a hotbed for Naxal activities for decades. The state was formed in November 2000. Since its formation, the Naxal-hit areas have been a significant concern for the administration. As per the government records, the most affected regions are Bastar, Bijajpur, Dantewada, Jashpur, Kanker, Korea (Baikunthpur), Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon, Sarguja, Dhamtari, Mahasamund, Gariyaband, Balod, Sukma, Kondagaon and Balrampur.
According to South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), there were at least 70 incidents of killing (28 civilians, 37 SF personnel, and 70 Maoists), resulting in 135 fatalities in violence linked to left-wing extremism in 2020. While in 2020 122 (30 civilians, 19 SF personnel and 73 Maoists) were killed in 72 incidents.