The Hindu : Front Page : Manmohan wants naxal forces crippled

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 21, 2007
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Manmohan wants naxal forces crippled

Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI: Reiterating that left wing extremism remains probably the single biggest security challenge to India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday asked the States to establish specialised dedicated forces to tackle and cripple it.

“These forces should be led by capable, highly motivated officers who can imbue the necessary fighting spirit in their personnel. The Home Ministry will provide all possible assistance to these forces. States also need to consider joint operations and joint mechanisms for effective police operations in appropriate cases,” he said.

Addressing the Chief Ministers’ conference on internal security here, Dr. Singh stressed the need to choke the support infrastructure of the naxal groups. “Forest operations, tendu patta operations and contractors in interior areas are particularly vulnerable to extortion,” he warned.

Dr. Singh also focussed on the larger problem of terrorism that affected all States equally. “Terror attacks may have happened so far only in some locations. But the reach of terrorists is such that no one can say that they are fully immune from such attacks,” he told the Chief Ministers.

This year itself, high profile terror attacks occurred in Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. He said it was necessary to check the naxal’s attempts to recruit local sympathisers.

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