BJP favours Army to combat Naxals

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today demanded the deployment of Army to combat Naxalites in the Left extremism-hit pockets of the country.

"The BJP Central leadership favours the deployment of Army in the Naxalite-hit areas including Chhattisgarh to end violence and senseless killings of innocent people by the rebels," Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said here today.

The party (BJP) would mount pressure on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to take effective steps in containing the growing menace of Naxalism in the country, she said, adding that they would raise the issue in the coming session of Parliament.

The Leader of Opposition charged that the UPA government was confused about the strategy to be adopted in combating the red army. "If deployment of Army can check killings of security personnel and innocent civilians by the Naxalites, the Union government should go for it," she added.