Patnaik seeks re-deployment of central forces in Kandhamal

September 24th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Thursday urged the central government for more paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and a dedicated chopper to tackle the Maoist menace. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday met union Home Minister P.

September 24th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa has requested the central government for early release of central funds to carry out various tribal welfare activities in the state, according to an official statement here Thursday. "Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met Tribal Affairs Minister Kantilal Bhuria at New Delhi Thursday and requested early release of central grants of Rs.

August 19th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday requested the central government to set up a National Institute of Design Technology (NID) in the state capital and offered to provide for it necessary infrastructure, including land. Patnaik met union Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma at New Delhi Wednesday and made the request, the chief minister's office said in a press release here.

August 19th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Wednesday asked the central government to extend the long-term assistance to the state's backward Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput (KBK) region. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik met Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and sought approval of an eight-year prospective plan starting from 2009.

August 18th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Tuesday demanded deployment of central paramilitary forces in the national sanctuaries and parks in the state, in view of the growing Maoist menace. "The red extremism is growing in national parks and Sanctuaries in the state.

July 21st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday blamed the central government for not helping the state in countering the Maoists effectively. "There is not enough central assistance to counter the Naxalites (Maoists) in our state effectively," Patnaik said replying to an adjournment motion moved by the opposition in the state assembly on growing Maoist activities in the state.

July 4th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Conceding Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's demand, the central government has extended the deployment of its paramilitary forces for two more weeks in the state's Kandhamal district, which witnessed communal riots last year, an official said here Saturday. The central government had Wednesday withdrawn from the region four companies of central paramilitary forces - the last of the central forces posted there to maintain peace.

July 1st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Four companies of central paramilitary forces posted in Orissa's Kandhamal district following communal violence last year were withdrawn Wednesday, an official said. They were the last of the central forces posted there to keep the peace.

April 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday came down strongly on erstwhile ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said in the same breath that it was not possible for his Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to form an alliance with the Congress either. 'The BJD would find it impossible to ally with BJP and certainly not with the Congress,' Patnaik told the NDTV 24X7 news channel shortly after voting started in 11 Lok Sabha and 77 assembly constituencies in Orissa.

April 20th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The election in Orissa's troubled Kandhamal district went off peacefully last week, but state authorities want the central forces deployed in the communally-sensitive region to stay on for a while longer, officials said Monday. The central government wants to withdraw the 45 companies of paramilitary forces, including the forces deployed in Kandhamal after the communal riots last year.

April 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Orissa Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Naveen Patnaik has said he would support only a non-Bharatiya Janata Party or non-Congress government at the centre and was ready to consider NCP chief Sharad Pawar as well as any Left leader as the next prime minister. In an interview on CNN-IBN's 'Devil's Advocate' programme, Patnaik said that he would look into 'with a great level of possibility' at the candidature of Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar for the top job.

April 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Ruling out any post-poll tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Orissa Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Naveen Patnaik has said the communal violence in Kandhamal last year was 'the last straw' that broke their 11-year alliance. Patnaik also underlined that he will neither back the Congress nor a BJP-led government at the centre and indicated that he was open to the possibilities of joining the Third Front.

March 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat Sunday expressed happiness over the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) breakup and said a decision on aligning with the Orissa party would be taken soon. 'We are happy to hear the news of the BJD breaking off from the BJP and NDA (National Democratic Alliance).

January 12th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Over 4,000 personnel of central forces deployed in Orissa's Kandhamal district in the aftermath of communal violence will be withdrawn in phases, an official said Tuesday. The central government has directed the state to initiate the withdrawal of forces from Thursday (Jan 15), Home Secretary A.P.

December 26th, 2008 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa may seek an extension of the deployment of central forces in the communally sensitive Kandhamal district as authorities feel there are still undercurrents of tension prevailing in some remote areas. 'We need the presence of central forces for some more time as complete normalcy is yet to be restored in interior pockets,' a police officer in Kandhamal told IANS Saturday on condition of anonymity.