The violence against the people of Christian faith in Orissa, that started on 24th August, is still continuing and till the time of reporting no political party or people are being allowed by the Navin Patnaik Govt. to visit the areas gripped by saffron terror and violence. The Orissa CM Navin Patnaik himself visited Kandhamal only on 30th August. It has been reported that even Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil’s visit to the violence ridden areas was being slowed down and when he was finally allowed in he was accompanied by Jagdish Tytler, a man involved in the massacres of the Sikhs in 1984 carnage in Delhi. This gesture of the Congress’ Home Minister will only embolden the rabidly communal VHP-RSS-BJP killer gangs in Orissa. However this act of Shivraj Patil has immensely angered the people of Orissa who are also seeing that despite Congress having strong presence in these areas, it is not mobilising the masses against the communal forces and elements.
The anti-Christian violence has further spread to new areas and districts of Gajapati, Kalahandi, Sambalpur, Bargud, Kendrapara and Koraput districts. Everywhere the police has become a mute spectator as Navin Patnaik Govt. is running with the support of BJP, while communal-criminal gangs led by saffron organisations and BJP are moving around freely engaging in arson and killing. All this further emboldened them to call for Orissa Bandh on 25th August and on that day they hired lumpens and anti-social elements to wreak their macabre dance of death and destruction. During the bandh they killed 18 people in Kandhamal alone and 2 in Gajapati and burnt 23 churches and countless Christian houses. Reports have it that the common Christians were being chased and killed mercilessly. In Kendrapara District some Muslim houses too were burnt and destroyed. And the entire police and law and order machinery of the State Govt. had become paralysed while tye Sangh Parivar was in full control of these areas.
On the other hand the Navin Patnaik led Govt., instead of taking tough measures to suppress the saffron brigade declared holiday for all educational institutions as if paying respect to Swami Laxmanananda, the VHP man who had led the bloody riots and killings of Christians in Dec ’07-Jan ’08.
On 30th August some ABVP-RSS elements hung up a placard with anti-Hindu inflammable content and projected it as if it was done by the minority community and tried to mobile college students against the Christians. Many places are in the grip of sharp tension and its evident by the fact that Shivraj Patil was not let in Kandhamal.
The CPI(ML) is making its best possible efforts to mobilise the people of Orissa against this violence. Protest demonstrations have taken place and a joint protest was held along with SUCI on 28th August. We are approaching all the Left parties for collective action against the ongoing anti-Christian violence. Young CPI(ML) cadres in Kandhamal, who hailed from Christian faith are feared killed, we have no access to those areas as yet as entry is being barred from outside. The CPI(ML) Orissa unit is trying to organise a visit to the area.