Noted human rights activist Dr Binayak Sen has said most of the land in Chhattisgarh was acquired at gun-point for big industrial houses. In the packed confines of the historic Students’ Hall in College Square, Sen, released recently on bail from the Raipur Central Jail after two years, made his first public appearance at a seminar on public health on Saturday.

When asked about his acting as a mediator if the Chhattisgarh government and Maoists come to the talking table, he said, “I am willing to promote peace and I want a political solution to the conflict,” Sen said.

Criticising the Chhattisgarh government’s Salwa Judum programme, Sen said it was aimed to de-populate large tracts of the state for easy entry of big industrial houses. “How did the Tatas get land in Lohandiguda for the steel project? Tribals were taken to the magistrate at gun-point, forced to say that they had attended the gram sabha held on acquisition process and made to sign the land deeds. Similar was the case with the Essar project. Large tracts of land have also been given to the Jindals in Raigarh,” he added.

Sen, the secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), said the state was behind the widespread violence in Bastar. He said the PUCL’s investigations have revealed that all encounter deaths claimed by the government are false.

“When I started work in Chhattisgarh, “fight for health” was our slogan. In Chhattisgarh, all government health programmes, including the National Rural Health Scheme, are modelled on our approach,” Sen said.