Win confidence of downtrodden to fight Naxalism: Ex-Army chief

Pressing army into combating Naxals would be of little help as government needs to win confidence of people in affected areas to deal with the problem, former Army chief Gen. (retd) VK Singh said.

Jaipur: Pressing the army into combating Naxals would be of little help as the government needed to win the confidence of the people in the affected areas to successfully deal with the problem, former Army chief Gen. (retd) VK Singh said here on Sunday. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, Singh said that a lot of issues had to be taken into consideration before any decision on force deployment could be made.

He said that Naxals receive support from locals because the latter are still deprived of government support and social justice. Thus, the government should try and resolve the matter by first winning the confidence of the people, Singh added. Talking about social activist Anna Hazare`s `Jantantra Yatra` against corruption and other social evils, Singh said that the latest drive was gaining support among the people. "There is a need for awakening (among) the people for positive change," Singh said. PTI