Naxals have thrust war upon us: Chidambaram

Raipur: A day after 76 jawans were massacred by Maoists in Chhattisgarh in the worst attack ever, a grieving Home Minister P Chidamabaram said Naxalites were thrusting war upon the state and there would be no let-up in anti-Naxal operations. (Read & watch: 76 security men killed by Naxals in Chhattisgarh)

"It is the Naxalites who have described the state as an enemy and the conflict as a war. If this is a war then I wish to say I have never used that word...if it is a war it has been thrust upon the state by those who do not have any legitimate right to carry weapons or kill," the home minister said, while addressing  a press conference in Jagdalpur, where he paid homage to those dead. (Pics: Bloody Timeline)

But Chidambaram cautioned against any "knee-jerk" reactions to yesterday's "savage" attack by the Maoists. He said "at this moment we must remain calm and hold our nerves" in our campaign to rid India of the grave threat of Maoists and to save democracy.

He  ruled out any proposal to use the army in the fight against the Naxalites. "There is no proposal to use army. We think the state police assisted by Central paramilitary forces are sufficient to overcome the Naxalite threat. It is our present assessment of the threat," he said.

However, he did say in answer to a question: "At present there is no mandate to use the Air Force or any aircraft. But if necessary, we will have to revisit the mandate to make some changes". (Read & watch: Air Chief not in favour of use of air power against Naxals)

Saying that the goal of the Maoists was to overthrow the established government, Chidambaram said "we cannot and shall not allow them to succeed their goal.

"It is the legitimate duty of the state to protect the people and reclaim the territory dominated by the Naxalites," he said.

Condemning the brutal and savage attack of the Maoists on the CRPF men, he said yesterday's operation by the security forces was not intelligence based but was for area domination in order to understand and familiarise themselves with the terrain. (Read: Dantewada massacre: The mastermind)

"As I said yesterday, something went wrong. Only an inquiry will establish what went wrong," he said, adding the inquiry will also establish whether there were 1000 Naxals were involved in the attack or not.

Chidambaram also categorically denied that there was any operation code named "Operation Greenhunt" saying it was a name given by one officer sometime in some offensive.

He also said there was good coordination between the Centre and the states in the anti-Naxal operations.

Even the Dantewada operation was decided by the Inspector General and DIG of Bastar range in Chhattisgarh in association with DIG CRPF and to be directed by SP of Dantewada.

Homage paid to Jawans

Chidambaram, who is making an on-the-spot assessment and review of the situation in Chhattisgarh, was accompanied by Governor Shekhar Dutt and Chief Minister Raman Singh.

The Home Minister began the morning by attending a police ceremony in Jagdalpur to pay homage to those killed. The mood was sombre as the 64-year-old Chidambaram walked up to the coffins of the CRPF personnel which were draped in the tri-colour. (In Pics: Tributes to the jawans)

A bugler sounded the "Last Post" and a paramilitary contingent reversed its arms in honour of their fallen colleagues.

Chidambaram later spoke to some of the family members of the victims of the Naxal violence before leaving for Raipur where he will hold meeting with state officials. (Watch: Injured cops out of danger: Medical officer) (With PTI inputs)