Kamal Ghorui
RAIPUR: The battle over who deserves credit for Chhattisgarh’s anti-Naxal gains has spilled into a full-blown social media slugfest, with former chief ministers Bhupesh Baghel and Raman Singh trading sharp barbs after Union home minister Amit Shah’s remarks in Parliament triggered a fresh political row. Baghel escalated the attack by sharing a newspaper clipping and asked: “Aur saboot chahiye kya, Amit Shah ji?” In the post, he cited an interview of a former security adviser to back his claim that the state had extended cooperation in anti-Maoist operations.
That drew a stinging response from former three-time chief minister and current assembly speaker Raman Singh, who turned the attack on Baghel. In a sharply worded post, Raman wrote that Baghel as CM had claimed to have “evidence” in his pocket on the 2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre butcre, but now could produce only a newspaper clipping.“Throwing mud at others will not hide your own stains,” Raman said, adding that Baghel’s five years in office were marked more by blame game than decisive action.The latest round of sparring began after Amit Shah on Monday claimed in the House that the Congress did not cooperate in the fight against LWE. Hitting back, former CM Bhupesh Baghel posted a video on social media, challenging Shah to a debate on the issue and asserting that the Congress govt had fully supported the Centre in tackling Naxal violence during its tenure.The exchange has sharpened the BJP-Congress confrontation at a time when the state is witnessing aggressive political messaging around the decline of Maoist influence and the broader narrative of “Naxalism’s end” in Chhattisgarh.The Jhiram Ghati attack remains one of the most emotionally charged reference points in the state’s LWE discourse. The 2013 massacre had killed several senior Congress leaders and left a deep political and institutional scar. By invoking Jhiram, Raman sought to turn the debate from present-day claims of cooperation to the Congress’ long-standing handling of the Maoist issue.Baghel, however, has tried to frame the dispute as one of facts versus political distortion, insisting that the Centre’s claim of non-cooperation was false and that the record would show his govt stood with security agencies in the anti-Naxal fight.
