Don’t support Maoists, Chidambaram appeals

LALGARH - Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram Sunday visited the Maoist hub in West Bengal and urged its residents not to support the guerrillas.

After a three-hour visit to an area the Communist Party of India-Maoist has made its bastion, the minister asked people of this rural belt in West Midnapore district not to give material or moral backing to the rebels.

He said he had mixed feelings about the sweeping crackdown security forces are carrying out here against the Maoists.

“I go back with a mixed perception. There are good points and weak points. The good point is the central and state security forces have been able to arrest a number of people. The weak point is the Naxalites are still getting away by killing people,” he said.

He said that this year 65 civilians had been killed in violence linked to the Maoists, who the government says have emerged as the biggest internal security threat to the country.