Naxal ideologues 'more dangerous' than armed cadres: Govt

Tells the Supreme Court the rebels have destroyed thousands of development and infrastructure facilities

With violence perpetrated by Naxals continuing, the Centre has said that ideologues of the Maoists are more dangerous than the armed cadres who have killed more than 8,100 civilians and policemen since 2001.

Terming the activities of Naxals as serious impediment to the nation-building process, the government has told the Supreme Court that the rebels have destroyed thousands of development and infrastructure facilities and kidnapped proactive, sincere district collectors to prevent development from reaching the poor.

"In the meantime, the ideologues and supporters of the CPI (Maoist) in cities and towns have undertaken a concerted and systematic propaganda against the state to project the state in a poor light and also malign it through disinformation.

"In fact, it is these ideologues who have kept the Maoist movement alive and are in many ways more dangerous than the cadres of the People's Liberation Guerilla Army," the Home Ministry has said in an affidavit in the apex court.

The Centre's submission came following a Supreme Court notice to it and nine Naxal-affected states on a PIL seeking direction to governments to formulate a central policy for handling the menace.

The Home Ministry has informed the apex court that initiating legal proceedings against the ideologues has often resulted in negative publicity for the enforcement agencies due to the effectiveness of the propaganda machinery of the CPI (Maoist).

"However, regardless of this, the Union of India is committed to combating this problem with all resources at its disposal and the efforts are gradually bearing fruit on the ground," the affidavit has said.