By IANS,
Mumbai : Asking Maoists to shed weapons, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday asserted that the country would see “positive development” in the coming months in the war against Maoist violence.
“I always maintain that Naxalism (Maoism) is the greatest internal threat to our security. The government is taking all possible measures to deal with the menace. In the months to come you will see some positive development in this regard,” Manmohan Singh told reporters here.
The prime minister said that talks were possible with the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist but only if it “shed the path of violence”.
Manmohan Singh was speaking on the last day of campaigning for the Maharashtra assembly elections Tuesday.
“I often say that the growth of Naxalism, particularly in central India, obliges us to look at the sense of alienation among certain sections of the society, especially tribals…
“But law and order is the primary responsibility of a civilised state, and no group of citizens should be allowed to take law into their hands,” he said.
Manmohan Singh added that there was no credible information that the Maoists were linked to external forces. “There are always rumours afloat. But there is no credible intelligence pointing in that direction.”
Asked about the beheading of a police officer in Jharkhand, he said the “evil designs” of the Maoists were well known. “The government is aware of their evil designs. We will take effective measures to counter them.”