CPI faults Chidambaram for using Army in anti-Maoist ops

New Kerala today carried the following news :

Vijayawada, Jun 23 : The Communist Party of India (CPI) today strongly criticised Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's decision to press the Army into service for combating the anti-Maoist operations in different states in the country.

Speaking at the party's state-level meeting here, CPI National Deputy General Secretary Survaram Sudhakar Reddy said the military will be useful to guard the borders to stop the infiltration from the neighbouring countries and not for conducting military operation against the ultras to check their violence.''India should not become like Thailand where the use of military was going on'', he observed and said the UPA government's step in this direction was not correct.There were reports that the Indian Army has agreed to depute some officers of the rank of brigadier and colonel to the Union Home Ministry to act as military advisers for anti-Naxalite operations.The reports also said the Army is waiting for the Home Minister to specify the exact number of officers needed as advisers the operation against the Maoists.Mr Reddy criticised the Centre for giving 'safe passage' to Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson after the gas leak treagedy in 1984.He said, ''Even though the Centre had announced yesterday that the compensation for the gas victims would be doubled...why not the US pay compensation to the 15,000 dead and thousands others affected by the poisonous gas as Mr Anderson hailed from the US.''