Threat to PM: Maoists fighting lost battle, says Rajnath

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday dismissed Maoists' alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the left-wing extremists are "fighting a lost battle" and that "PM's security is top priority of the government".

The Minister said the reported Maoist plan to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a hollow threat.

"Security of the Prime Minister is the top priority. Maoists are fighting a lost battle. Maoist insurgency has considerably come down," the Home Minister said.

"At present, the Maoist insurgency affects just 10 districts and even that would end soon as has been done in the Northeast where insurgent violence has been contained and brought down by 85 per cent."

Maharashtra Police on Thursday told a Pune court that they had seized a letter from a suspected Maoist revealing how they planned to assassinate Modi in a "Rajiv Gandhi-like incident".

The letter was recovered after five activists were arrested on Wednesday for links with the banned CPI-Maoist. They included Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale and lawyer Surendra Gadling, besides activists Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson.

--IANS

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