Naxalis not only law and order problem: Pawar

Against the backdrop of the barbaric Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh last week, NCP chief Sharad Pawar today said Naxalism is "not just a law and order problem".

New Delhi: Against the backdrop of the barbaric Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh last week, NCP chief and Union Minister Sharad Pawar Thursday said Naxalism is "not just a law and order problem" and advocated the need for understanding the cause behind it.

He said violence is not the right path to follow but contended that tribal youth are sucked into Naxalism because of inequality and "discontent" which cannot be ignored. "What has happened in Chhattisgarh, in which Congress leaders were killed, we condemn it. This is not the right path for the progress of the nation. A wrong ideology is being presented before the youth. "With weapons in hand, there won`t be betterment of the country. That the poor will benefit this way, there is no use saying it," he said at the national convention of the Nationalist Youth Congress held here. At the same time, he said, "It is not just a law and order problem" and that naxalism will continue till the tribals and all other sections don`t feel stakeholders in the development of the country. His comments assume significance as Congress leader and Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said earlier this week that Maoists are "terrorists". Pawar favoured developing of infrastructure like roads, hospitals and education in all areas. The veteran leader suggested that "economic inequality was a reason which had led to discontent among tribals and other sections and to the growth of Naxalism" in the country. "We also cannot ignore how Naxalism spread... On the one hand we see that in cities like Delhi and Mumbai there are people who can spend crores in a few hours. And on the other hand the tribal child living in jungles is not sure of two square meals a day. Someday or the other, he may take a different route. There is need to understand this," he said. PTI