BJP chief Nadda links Congress leaders to 2013 Jhiram valley Maoist attack; Congress demands NIA probe, apology

RAIPUR: BJP national president JP Nadda on Monday alleged that “people from within Congress” were involved in getting their own leaders killed in the 2013 Jhiram Ghati Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh, triggering a sharp backlash from the opposition party, which has demanded that the NIA question him over the claim.

“Let me say this with full responsibility: no one else was giving information and inside details about the Jhiram Valley incident. People from within were involved in getting their own people killed and were in contact with the Naxalites,” Nadda alleged, claiming that Congress leaders had long maintained a “friendship and understanding” with Maoists.Addressing a “Janadesh Parab” (People’s Mandate Festival) rally in Chhattisgarh's Janjgir-Champa district to mark two years of the Vishnu Deo Sai-led BJP govt, Nadda said he was in charge of the party’s Chhattisgarh unit when the Jhiram Valley ambush took place and had closely followed the developments. “When protectors turn predators, the common people suffer the most,” he added. On 25 May 2013, Maoists attacked a convoy of Congress leaders returning from the party’s “Parivartan Yatra” between Sukma and Jagdalpur. Thirty-two people were killed in the Jhiram Ghati ambush, including then state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, senior leader and former leader of opposition Mahendra Karma, and former Union minister Vidyacharan Shukla.

Nadda said the previous Congress govts “compromised” with Maoists, while the “double-engine” BJP govts at the Centre and in Chhattisgarh had launched decisive operations against Left-Wing Extremism. In his address, Nadda said that Naxalism in the state has now been reduced to a limited number of villages and districts. “Nearly 2,500 cadres have surrendered in the last two years, 1,853 have been arrested, and top leaders such as Hidma and Basavaraju have been neutralised,” he said, adding that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, the campaign to free the country from Maoism has picked up unprecedented momentum. He also asserted that Maoism in Chhattisgarh would be “finished by March 2026”, saying the state govt was implementing the Centre’s security and development strategy firmly on the ground. Targeting the previous Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress govt, Nadda accused it of corruption, failure to fulfil promises and following an “appeasement” line while allegedly maintaining an “understanding” with Maoists. “The people uprooted such an ineffective and deceitful govt in the 2023 assembly elections and brought the BJP back to power,” he told the gathering. The remarks drew a strong response from the Congress, which called the allegations baseless and demanded that central agencies question the BJP chief. Chhattisgarh Congress communication department head Sushil Anand Shukla said Nadda’s statement was “objectionable” and asked on what basis he was making such a serious charge. “The Congress demands that the NIA interrogate JP Nadda over his claim. He has torn apart all limits of political decorum. He must apologise, and the BJP should take action against him for this statement,” Shukla said. Shukla said families of those killed in the Jhiram attack, as well as Congress workers, had been waiting for justice for years and that making such allegations without placing evidence in the public domain was “an insult to the martyrs”.