Union home minister P Chidambaram has said that the Centre has not launched any operation against Maoists, and that "state police are responsible for maintaining law and order".
However, there were widespread reports of an anti-Naxal operation to be launched by the Centre at the tri-junction of the worst Naxal-affected states. The tri-junctions identified for the offensive are Andhra Pradesh-Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh; Orissa-Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh and West Bengal-Jharkhand-Orissa.
In September 2009, as part of Operation Green Hunt, 800 jawans took on Maoists forces by going into the thick forests near Singamadagu in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district. Similarly, as many as 1,800 Central Paramilitary Forces commandos arrived in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli on November 4, 2009, and were positioned in places meant for their deployment. Yet, the home minister denied any operation against Naxalites at the Central level.
Is there a lack of coordination and a conflict of interest between the Centre and the states with regard to tackling the Maoist menace? Or this just a figment of the media's imagination, as alleged by the home minister?
