JP Nadda claims Congress 'insiders' aided Maoists in 2013 Jhiram Ghati killings; party seeks NIA probe, apology from BJP chief

RAIPUR: BJP national president JP Nadda alleged Monday that "people from within Congress" had colluded with Maoist insurgents to engineer the 2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre in Chhattisgarh that killed 32 people, including senior party functionaries.

His remarks triggered a Congress demand for an NIA probe and a public apology.Addressing a Janadesh Parab rally in Janjgir-Champa district, Nadda said he was heading BJP's Chhattisgarh unit at the time of the ambush on May 25, 2013, and had tracked developments closely. "Let me say this with full responsibility: no one else was giving information and inside details about the Jhiram valley case. People from within were involved in getting their own people killed and were in contact with the Naxalites," he alleged.

"When protectors turn predators, the common people suffer the most," he added.Maoists attacked a convoy of Congress functionaries returning from the party's Parivartan Yatra between Sukma and Jagdalpur on that day. Among those killed were then state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, former opposition leader Mahendra Karma, and former Union minister Vidyacharan Shukla.Nadda accused previous Congress govts of compromising with Maoists, contrasting that with what he called decisive action by "double-engine" BJP govts at Centre and in Chhattisgarh.

He said nearly 2,500 Maoists had surrendered over the past two years, 1,853 had been arrested, and top commanders such as Madvi Hidma and Basavaraju had been killed.Under PM Narendra Modi and CM Vishnu Deo Sai, the push to eliminate Maoist insurgency had gathered unprecedented momentum, he said. Left-wing extremism in Chhattisgarh would be "finished by March 2026", Nadda asserted, saying state authorities were firmly executing the Centre's security-and-development plan on ground.Congress hit back sharply. Chhattisgarh Congress functionary Sushil Anand Shukla called the allegations "objectionable" and demanded proof. "Congress demands that NIA question Nadda over his claim. He has torn apart all limits of political decorum. He must apologise and BJP should act against him for this statement," Shukla said, adding that making such charges without evidence was "an insult to the martyrs".