Patna, May 30: All India Anti Terrorist Front chairman and Congress member M.S. Bitta on Thursday called for the imposition of the President’s Rule in Chhattisgarh for at least three years once the Raman Singh government’s term ends in November this year.

He also called for the replication of the Punjab model and use of army to take on Naxalites in all affected states. “The Centre and the state governments should work in tandem to root out the Naxalite problem. The government should use army, para military forces and the state police to tackle the problem as successfully done in Punjab. We should follow the Punjab formula to wipe out the rebels,” Bitta told reporters here.

On whether or not army should be used, Bitta replied when the army could be used for carrying out Operation Bluestar, why could not it be used against Naxalites. Accompanied by the party’s state unit president, Rana Ran Vir Singh, Bitta called for the imposition of the President’s Rule in Chhattisgarh for at least three years so as to start combat operations against Naxalites. “There is no other way. If normalcy can be brought in Punjab with the help of army, para military forces and state police, then the same formula should be replicated in Chhattisgarh too,” Bitta said, while suggesting that K. Vijay Kumar, the former director-general of CRPF, who initiated offensive against Veerappan, should be appointed as governor.

At present, Kumar is serving as the advisor to Jharkhand Governor Syed Ahmed since President’s Rule was imposed in the state.

Holding intelligence failure as a major reason for Naxalite attacks in Chhattisgarh and other places, Bitta also sought lodging of murder cases against intelligence officials for failing to provide key inputs that led to killing of innocent people in several Naxalite and terrorist attacks in the country. “Had the security forces got timely intelligence inputs, such an incident would not have occurred,” he said.

“The Centre should enact a law under which there should be a guarantee for providing two government jobs to the families of those security force personnel who laid down their lives for the country,” Bitta said. The law must entail the provision of the government adopting the children of victims’ families till they are settled and married, he added.