Madikeri: The Kodagu District In-charge minister has given a different twist to the tribal agitation in Diddalli by suspecting the involvement of Naxals and cadres from Kerala-based organisations.
Minister M R Seetharam told reporters in the capital on December 30, “There are reports to suggest infiltration by naxals into the district and these elements are instigating tribals in Kodagu against moving out of the forests. The tribals are being provoked by naxal elements to reject the rehabilitation packages by the state government.”
The minister’s statement has given a new twist to the problem as it overrules the earlier statement by senior police officials who had denied the hand of naxals in the ongoing agitation.
The minister contended that only 199 families were eligible for rehabilitation whereas numbers have swelled to 572 after protests gained momentum.
In fact, the minister’s claim is in stark contrast to the government’s earlier stand that the tribals were being instigated by the coffee estate owners who had encroached upon forest land.
The minister raised apprehensions regarding the district turning into a naxal hub if the protests were allowed to continue. He assured of convening a meeting with the tribal leaders during next week to decide on the exact number of people to be rehabilitated.
He said the government had identified land at various places in the vicinity to rehabilitate the evicted tribals.
The tribal leaders including Appaji and Muthamma had no issues with the government as they had been granted land by the government, Seetharam clarified.
