Government neglect root of Maoism, admits Pranab

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday admitted that successive governments had failed to adequately address the concerns of the people in backward and tribal regions, and said corrective steps were required to ensure that the rise of Naxalism in these areas was checked.

Speaking at the 71st Raising Day celebrations of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in New Delhi, Mukherjee called Naxalism the biggest threat to the country's peace and security, and expressed concern over the spread of the movement to wider backward areas.

But he added that while Naxalite groups needed to be dealt with ''firmly'' and ''resolutely'', the armed offensive must be ''dovetailed'' with development initiatives.

''The rise of left-wing extremism in the backward areas of the country is, in a way, a reflection of our failure in meeting the expectations of the local people. It is easy to misguide people who have been denied their legitimate demands or deprived of their rights and where the state has not shown adequate sensitivity in sharing and mitigating the local concerns,'' Mukherjee said.

The government recently approved an integrated action plan for the districts affected by left-wing extremism. It covered 60 tribal and backward districts, where a grant of Rs25 and Rs30 crore per district would be given during 2010-11 and 2011-12 respectively, he said.

Mukherjee told the personnel of the CRPF, which is doing the bulk of the fighting against Naxalite groups, that while the use of force was necessary to bring back normalcy in these areas so that ''correctives'' could be applied, they should act with ''sensitivity, patience and maturity''.