By IANS,
Srinagar : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday that Maoist violence needed to be dealt with “in a holistic way”, with a combination of security measures and administrative steps to end the alienation of the tribal people.
“We have to deal with it in a holistic way. Every state has to maintain and enforce law and order. Law and order is a precondition for any sustained social and economic development,” the prime minister told reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Having said that, I do recognise that in certain areas, particularly in areas where the tribal population is in large (numbers), there is alienation,” he said.
The prime minister said this could be because development activities may not be reaching the tribals, who are among the poorest of the poor in the country.
“We have to operate on two legs. We have to enforce and law and order. Simultaneously we have to pay attention to economic development.”
The prime minister, however, declined to comment on the West Bengal government’s decision to release from prison some tribal women in order to secure the freedom of a police officer abducted by Maoists.
Asked to comment on Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s reported statement that there were no Maoists, the prime minister said: “The Maoist threat is a reality. The government of India is duty bound to deal with it in an effective manner.”