New Delhi: Expressing "extreme concern"
over increase in naxal violence in the country, BJP on Friday said
growing magnitude of their activity shows government has "run
out of ideas" in meeting the threat and demanded the Prime
Minister should hold wider political consultations on it.
"The BJP is extremely concerned as the magnitude of
naxal operations has expanded and is entering territories
beyond those of conventional Maoist activity," Leader of the
Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said.
He said the covert nature of naxal operations, which
has taken the authorities by surprise several times, points
towards "intelligence failure and limited activity" against
them by the government.
"The way Home Minister P Chidambaram speaks on the
issue with so much generality, shows the government has run
out of ideas (to deal with the menace). The Prime Minister
should ensure higher security and hold wider political
consultations by involving the opposition," Jaitley said.
He also lamented the open defence of Maoists by some
human rights activists.
"Most human rights activists on television channels
are almost the overground face of Maoists....they are openly
advocating their cause on TV. In the name of human rights,
these killers are being defended," Jaitley said.
To a question whether there was a need for meeting the
needs of the poor to deal with the root cause of naxalism,
Jaitley said "political philosophy does not say you are
entitled to kill and behead people....Killing cannot be
fought with Satyagraha."
The Rajya Sabha MP said the naxals had become so
powerful today and had such modern weapons that even the
police were scared of facing them.
"The police are afraid of venturing into their
territory. They are attacking policemen and even commandos. It
is a war-like situation," he said.
However, Jaitley denied there was a civil war on in
the country due to growing naxal attacks. "This is not a
civil war but the civil administration is in a bad shape," he
said.
"Government does not appear to have one opinion on the
issue.....It appears to be clueless," he added.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, October 09, 2009, 22:06