The local units of banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) have reportedly criticised Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and renowned Badminton player and Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal for extending monetary assistance to families of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans killed in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.
The Maoist groups distributed pamphlets in the region, in which they expressed their anger against Kumar and Nehwal and also appealed to them and other well-known personalities to stand by the oppressed tribals and raise a voice against the violation of their human rights.
The Maoists want celebrities to take a stand against the oppression and exploitation of poor masses, “who are at the receiving end of the armed forces”.
The reds suggested that the celebrity duo shouldn’t have stood by the side of slain CRPF martyrs. They claimed that the CRPF personnel were deployed to safeguard the interest of corporate houses and political patrons.
Maoists have argued that the CRPF jawans did not die for the country. The rebels claimed the jawans were punished by Peoples’ Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) for their relentless exploitation of the local population, mostly tribal.
Kumar and Nehwal had donated Rs 9 lakh and Rs 6 lakh, respectively, to the families of each of the 25 CRPF jawans who were martyred in a Maoist ambush in the state’s Sukma district on April 24.
According to an Indian Express report, a senior police said, “In an audio press release after the Sukma attack, their spokesperson Vikalp had said that the forces were not their enemies. Many Maoist leaders have in the past said that they sympathise with security personnel. So what is their problem if bereaved families get some financial assistance? This is clear hypocrisy.”
