No army against Maoists: Chidambaram

     Raipur, January 22, 2010: Central Government today clearly rejected any suggestion to use Army against the naxalites in the country and expressed satisfaction over the coordinated police action against the Maoists.

      After reviewing a high level meeting on security, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram expressed his satisfaction over the armed operation against the left wing extremists by the central para military forces and the state military police.

     “Don’t bring in the Army here. State police and para military forces alone are engaged and they are quite competent to take on the members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and other outfits. There is no question of inducting the army,” Chidambaram told reporters here in the capital city of Chhattisgarh replying to a question about deployment of defence force personnel to combat Maoists.

     He also said the Maoists were buying arms from the international market to carry out their ideological war but there were no evidence that they had been getting financial assistance from any external sources.

     “There is no evidence of the naxals getting monetary help from abroad. But they are able to smuggle arms. They buy it from the arms bazaar of the world and able to smuggle into India,” Chidambaram said.

     On a question, he said the Maoists had spurned an offer of talk.

     Indian Government asked the Maoists to suspend violence and come for a talk on any issue but the rebels had spurn that offer, he said adding “all Chief Ministers are agreed, if the Maoists suspend violence and don’t indulge in killings, we can talk to them. But there is no response,” the Home Minister added.

     Earlier Chidambaram had a meeting with the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and Orissa Dr Raman Singh and Naveen Patnaik respective along with Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil on the issue of security and anti-naxal operation.