10 Naxals killed in Chhattisgarh encounter
Raipur : Ten Naxals were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh Thursday, police said.
The face-off took place in forests under Bhairamgarh police station area of Bijapur district when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, state Director General of Police D M Awasthi told reporters here.
"Police received a specific input about the presence of Maoist Divisional Committee members Rajman Mandavi and Sukhlal with 50-60 cadres in the interiors of Bhairamgarh forest. They were reportedly conducting a training camp for the lower-rung cadres there," he said.
Acting on the tip-off, around 200 members of the combined squad of the Special Task Force and the District Reserve Guard launched the operation Wednesday night, he said.
"When the patrolling team was in the forest near Borga village, around 450 km from the state capital Raipur, at around 11 am on Thursday, the Naxals opened fire on them that led to the gun-battle," he said.
"The intermittent firing lasted for two-and-a-half hours. When the exchange of fire ended, bodies of 10 uniform- clad Naxals were recovered from the spot along with 11 muzzle loading guns and a 315 bore revolver," Awasthi said.
A large cache of explosives was also recovered from the spot, he said. Terming it as a successful intelligence-based operation in the beginning of 2019, Awasthi said such operations will continue.
Reinforcement has been rushed to the spot to assist the patrolling team to evacuate the bodies, he said.
"The identity of the killed Naxals and other details will be known once the security forces return," he added.
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Right to vote under threat, must be made fundamental right: Cong's Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that the right to vote is under threat and the time has come when it should be made a fundamental right for citizens.
Speaking with reporters, Ramesh lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) has never been as compromised as it has been under him.
"The rot started under his predecessor. This man is a player and not a neutral observer," the Congress leader said, slamming Kumar.
Kumar is completely compromised and has become a player in elections, he alleged.
"Home Minister Amit Shah had talked about three Ds -- detect, delete and deport. So we want to know how many non-Indian citizens have been detected, how many have been deleted and how many have been deported," Ramesh said, adding that the right to vote is now under threat.
On opposition parties submitting a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to move a motion for the CEC's removal, the Congress leader said they will continue to make efforts for Kumar's removal as he is "compromised".
Ramesh also batted for the right to vote to be recognised as a fundamental right.
"I believe that the time has come that the right to vote should be made a fundamental right. It is a statutory right, it is not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable," he said.
The former Union minister said this was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, but it was eventually decided that it should be made part of the Constitution.
B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram had warned that in the future, governments might try to disenfranchise voters, he added.
"Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens," Ramesh asserted.
