In protest against the alleged massacre of 20 Adivasis in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on the night of June 28, the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) has decided to organise a massive ‘dharna’ at Parliament Street in New Delhi on 31 July from 11 am to 5 pm.

Releasing a poster in this connection here, RDF president, Vara Vara Rao, alleged that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) brutally killed 20 Adivasi peasants of Sirkegudem, Kothagudem and Rajupenta in Bijapur district . He criticised the Central and state governments for their failure to take action against the officers, who were responsible for the “cold-blooded murders”.

He alleged that the state government was still continuing state-sponsored massacres like in the post-1947 India when then Union Home Minister openly defended criminal acts of paramilitary forces. He also alleged that the CRPF director general openly defended criminal activities of his forces.

Rao also demanded for a judicial inquiry to be conducted either by a sitting or a retired Supreme Court judge into the massacre. He wanted that the state government punish the police personnel and politicians including Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and Chief Minister Raman Singh. He pressed on the demanded that the Centre should stop Operation Green Hunt (a major campaign against the Naxalite movement) and withdraw military and paramilitary forces from Bastar.

He wanted the Centre to scrap all the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) signed with the “imperialist forces and corporate houses”. He said that a delegation will meet President Pranab Mukharjee and submit a memorandum on the Bijapur massacre seeking for a judicial probe.

Condemning the incident, Telangana Praja Front president, Akula Bhumaiah, alleged that the governments at the Centre and state, were trying to “loot minerals from the forest”. He appealed to the Supreme Court to take the Basiguda incident suo motu and order an inquiry into it.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/267969/rdf-stage-dharna-against-bijapur.html