PC outlines formula to fight Red terror

The government will first look at securing Naxal-affected areas before pushing through its development programmes as a part of its two-pronged approach for dealing with the ultra-Left menace across wide swathes of the country, home minister P Chidambaram said.

“The state must have authority over its territory. We are sending our paramilitaries to reclaim the Naxal-affected areas. We will follow this up with rapid development. We cannot do developmental work if we cannot enter the areas,” he said at the CII National Conference on Leadership here today. “Once we are able to secure these areas, the tribals will voice their grievances and we will respond to them,” he added. He explained that although the administration had tried to undertake developmental work in these areas, their efforts have been hampered due to the Naxals.

The home minister said that it was an “un-stated assumption” that some tribals in the Naxal-affected regions were willingly supporting the rebels. “A large proportion of the tribals is supportive of the Naxals out of fear. The recent elections at Jharkhand showed this as the average voter turnout was 58 per cent, which is higher than that of Mumbai. People came out to vote despite threats and propaganda,” he said.

He reasserted that if amenable conditions were created, the Centre would direct state governments to hold talks with the Naxals and was open to examining substitute administrative models for them. “If you are willing to abjure violence, we will talk to you (Naxals). We are not asking you to immediately lay down arms, but only abjure. If you come to the table, the state governments could explore the possibility of alternative governing structures,” he said.