By IANS,
Patna : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday said that India cannot afford to lose the battle against the Maoists.
“We have to strengthen the security situation in areas of Maoist influence,” said a resolution on the expansion of Maoist activities adopted by the BJP at its two-day national executive meeting that began here Saturday.
The resolution said there was a need to coordinate between the central government and the affected states over the issue.
“Law and order is a state subject but when a law and order problem transgresses into a threat to India’s sovereignty and democracy, the central government cannot shrug off its responsibility,” it said.
“The nation cannot abandon its responsibility by the meaningless debates revolving around the centre versus state or security versus development,” the BJP said.
The BJP said that there is also a need to carry on a ideological battle against the Maoists and their movement, whose object is to dismantle and destroy India’s democracy.
The party targeted Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government by saying that UPA-I was a wasted opportunity in the battle against Maoists.
“The home ministry, under UPA-I, failed to realize the enormity of the problem and the possible solutions and responses to it,” the party said.
“The home ministry under UPA-II initially showed signs of understanding the extent and enormity of the problem, but the entire national impetus being built up has been lost on account of the politics of the UPA and the Congress itself,” it said.
The BJP expressed its concern over the Maoist presence in almost 210 districts of the country.
In 90 of these districts, the presence is effective. The Maoists are already in the process of establishing a guerrilla army. They want to take control of rural areas, the party said.
“Through these rural areas, they want to eventually encircle the cities,” the resolution said.
The BJP admitted that the Maoist movement thrives on poverty. Maoists exploit poverty and backwardness in several tribal-dominated areas of the country, it said.
“Maoists have a vested interest in perpetrating poverty in these areas for their own political activity,” the BJP said.