The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : People's War vitiating poll process: DGP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 04, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

People's War vitiating poll process: DGP

By Our Staff Reporter

ANANTAPUR, APRIL 3. The People's War agenda of preventing only a few political parties from campaigning for the coming elections was nothing but vitiating the election process, the Director-General of Police, S.R. Sukumara, observed here today.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Sukumara said the police were taking several measures to ensure a level-playing field to all political parties in respect of campaigning. He said the police would function totally impartially as always.

The Central para-military forces were given to the State and were sent to districts well in advance of the election schedule to ensure a peaceful election. The police along with Central forces would visit naxal-affected villages regularly to create confidence among political parties as well as people.

Mr. Sukumara said counter action teams of the police would take steps to counter the actions of the PW. He, however, refused to elaborate the steps. Helicopters would also be used to check naxalite activity, if necessary, the DGP said.

Asked about political parties' reluctance fear to campaign in Lakkireddipalle and few other areas of Cuddapah district in view of the naxal threat, the DGP said the situation had improved to a large extent due to the steps taken by the police. Several confidence-building measures were taken in the area, he noted.

The DGP denied charges that tribals in the Nallamala forest were leaving their settlements due to the police invasion to check the naxalite activity. In fact, it was the naxalites who had become a threat to tribals now as the latter had realised the mistake of providing food and shelter to naxalites.

Mr. Sukumara sought to set the record straight over the row on his comments against the media regarding the coverage of news pertaining to naxalites. He said he had never spoken anything against the media but had explained the Election Commission norms on ensuring equal opportunities to all parties.

He said that he had only requested the media to restrain itself from giving wide publicity to naxalites' statements aimed at intimidating and threatening only a few parties, as the naxalites' action would vitiate the election process.

On the alleged delay in rehabilitating surrendered naxalites, the DGP said that the rehabilitation would only come in phases as the police would keep a watch on them to know whether there was any real change among them. He admitted that delay was being caused only in the matter of allocation of land to them.

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