The Kerala Chief Secretary, Tom Jose, has managed to send a cat amongst the Communist pigeons. In an opinion piece for the Times of India, Jose has written about how Maoists should rightly be termed as terrorists and how state action against these terrorist elements in fully and wholly justified.
Tom Jose in his Times of India article cites the official definition of terrorism as agreed upon by the United Nations – that elements who resort to violence to achieve political objectives and put civilians in harm’s way in the process can be called as terrorists. As such, people who engage in armed combat against a democratically elected government causing harm to innocent citizens are terrorists.
Using this rationale, Tom Jose says that Maoists are no different. He writes, “There is no justification in the argument that the Maoists who walk around with automatic weapons and spread the politics of hatred against the established social and political order under the Constitution of India are our brethren. It is the sovereign function of the state to protect peace-loving, law-abiding citizens from such terrorist elements. In the recent shootings at Agali, the security personnel have only carried out their duty to protect the citizens from the onslaught of Maoist terrorists. There is no rationale in stating that Maoists who indulge in armed conflict have got the same human rights and privileges as normal citizens. Not only that it cuts at the very root of the principles we live by, but also mocks and insults the ordinary people who go about their daily lives obeying the laws of the society”.
Essentially, and rightly, Tom Jose defends the state action against Maoists in Agali and also asserts that Maoists, who are terrorists, do not have the same human rights and privileges as normal citizens. He argues that the state has a responsibility to protect its law-abiding citizens from terrorists, including the Maoists.
Slamming the Communist Party of India (Maoists), Jose says that when our soldiers fight the enemies that come from across the border, we hail them as heroes and them fighting the Maoists should be no different. Appreciating the armed forces, Jose also says that in asymmetrical jungle warfare, it is either “killed or be killed”. That the security forces protect even those who criticise them and that them using their weapons against terrorists is justified.
Interestingly, Tom Jose also made an oblique reference to the two ‘students’ who have been arrested under UAPA for distributing Maoist pamphlets and shouting pro-Maoist slogans. He said, “If the terrorists… reach urban areas as they are aiming, then…we must act. We cannot afford to do nothing”, referring to ‘Urban Maoists’ and ‘Urban Naxals’.
By all standards, Jose’s article echoes the sentiments of every average Indian citizen that wants the terror of Maoism to end and respects the men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day so citizens can be protected.
However, Jose’s speaking in favour of the nation seems to have irked the Communists and the Congress.
The CPI reacted saying that Jose had “no right” to publish an article supporting police action and that there is a government in place to make such statements. Before the 4 Maoists were neutralised, CPI had led a delegation that had concluded that the police claims of a ‘fierce encounter’ were incorrect. As usual, the CPI had claimed that the encounter was ‘staged’.
“It is inappropriate for a Chief Secretary to write this, it amounts to misuse of power. His views that Maoists don’t have the rights of a normal human being is even against the Supreme Court guidelines. In PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties) versus the state of Maharashtra, the SC had issued 16 guidelines and right to life with human dignity is one among them”, said CPI state assistant Secretary K Prakash Babu according to The News Minute.
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In fact, Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress too raised this “issue” in the Kerala parliament demanding answers from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to which, the CM said he has not read the article.
State Congress President Mullapally Ramachandran said it’s shocking to see this and one wonders if the Chief Secretary is ruling the state.
“This is not acceptable at all. What is the Chief Minister doing and what’s his response on this,” asked Ramachandran.
While the CPI’s stand comes as no surprise, the Congress’ stand in the matter is also becoming commonplace. It is no secret that the Congress party has now allied itself with Maoists, Naxals, Islamists and the far-Left elements that choose to create chaos in the country and shield elements who pick up weapons against the State.
One recalls how Rahul Gandhi had reached Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to support the “student’s freedom of speech” after some of them had chanted “Afzal hum sharminda hai, tere qaatil zinda hai” and “Bharat tere tukde honge, Inshallah Inshallah”. While Rahul Gandhi shamelessly supported the extreme Naxal ideology in JNU, the Congress party then led by Rahul Gandhi had allied with Islamists in Kerala right before the 2019 General Elections.
It is indeed a fact that Maoists and Naxals have picked up weapons against the state. Their aim is to overthrow democratic institutions and establish their own Left Caliphate in the country, while the Islamists on the other hand dream of establishing an Islamist caliphate. Tom Jose send the cat among the pigeons with his article. The Left, while pretending to be “liberal”, often espouses the most fascist ideologies of the world – whether that is Maoism and Naxalism or Islamism.
In the books of the Communists and Islamists, who are more ideologically allied than any other political group, Tom Jose is akin to an apostate who has dared to toe a line which is inconvenient to them.
Earlier, addressing the National Human Rights Commission’s Adalat recently, he had said that Maoists were misleading tribals. This is not something that has been said for the first time. In an interview with OpIndia, surrendered Naxal Pahal Singh had said exactly the same, that tribals are misled by Naxalites and Maoists with promises of revolution and lies about how the State is out to capture their ‘Jal, Jungle, Zameen”.
With the Congress joining the far-Left now in normalising hate against those who speak against Maoists and Naxalites, one wonders if the masks have slipped far more than they had hoped for.