Noted social worker Medha Patkar on Friday in Indore demanded immediate halt to "Operation Green Hunt" in the Naxal-hit areas, saying it was affecting tribals in a big way.
"What the government is doing in the name of Operation Green Hunt is affecting the tribals in a big way. It is forcing them to move away from their land and therefore it should be stopped immediately," she told reporters at Indore Press Club.
After the massacre of 76 CRPF personnel in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram had said "no Operation Green Hunt is going on against Naxalites."
Terming the April 6 killing of CRPF men as unfortunate, Patkar said "I don't know on what basis we were labelled as Naxal-supporters. But definitely, we are the supporters of those tribals who are aware of their rights and did not even know who the Mao was."
The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader said she was opposed to violent solution of any problem irrespective of who gets killed - Maoists, CRPF jawans or tribals.
Advocating equal distribution of fruits of development, the social activist said innocent tribals should not be removed from their land in the name of industrialisation. PTI
