We killed Orissa's Hindu leader, claim Maoists

Bhubaneswar: One of Orissa's most wanted Maoist leaders has claimed responsibility for the killing of a Hindu leader on August 23 that triggered anti-Christian attacks in the state, in which at least 35 people have been killed and thousands forced to flee to escape rampaging mobs.

Sabyasachi Panda, leader of the Orissa unit of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), has said on television that his group killed Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in Jalespata Ashram in Kandhamal district.

He also warned that the rebels would kill around a dozen people who he alleged were responsible for the communal tension in Kandhamal unless they stopped their activities.

"Swami Laxmanananda was a leader of the VHP and was working to bring back Brahminism that was almost disappearing. He was supported by unscrupulous traders who were exploiting poor people," Orissa TV, a local television channel, showed Panda as saying on Sunday.

Target

"Organisations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad are targeting minorities, mainly Christians, attacking them, killing them and burning their homes," said Panda, secretary of the Orissa state committee of the CPI-Maoist.

"The tribals are not Hindu. They are nature worshippers. There are now half a million Hindus in Kandhamal and this number has grown because of these forces," Panda said.

Ministerspeak: Central rule demanded

Orissa, where communal violence in the past 45 days has claimed over 35 lives, "is a fit case" for President's Rule, union Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Sunday.

"The situation has worsened so much that Orissa has become a fit case for the imposition of Article 356. I think the central government should look into it very seriously," said Paswan. "Attacks against a minority community is a threat to the country's unity and integrity," the minister said.

Article 356 of the Indian constitution enables the central government to dismiss any state government in case of law and order breakdown.

- IANS