Emphasising that Naxalism is not the concern of a single state, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Wednesday said a concerted national strategy needs to be drawn up to combat the menace.
"The country must now rise above the constriction that this (Naxal problem) is the concern of any single state. We have been advocating a concerted national strategy to combat it," he said while addressing the meeting of chief ministers of Naxal-affected states.
Asserting that initiating a dialogue with Naxals will not serve any purpose until they express faith in the Constitution and adopt democratic means, Singh said Maoists wanted to hold talks without laying down arms.
The chief minister said Naxals have to be fought in a "spirit of political consensus and social cooperation" and noted that they were taking the help of certain human rights activists and 'pseudo intellectuals' for propagating their agenda.
"We need to formulate affirmative, responsive action on this front and put forward the truth before the people. We firmly believe that we will win this war by winning the support and confidence of the people," he said.
Singh noted that Naxals have 'wantonly destroyed' public property and facilities worth crores or rupees by damaging roads, rail tracks, power lines, hospitals, schools, buses and passenger vehicles.
"They have mercilessly killed forest-dwellers and the general public. It is also clear that their intention is to eventually usurp power at Delhi," he said.
On allegations that mineral-rich areas in Bastar have been given away to the multinational companies, Singh said not even a kg of iron ore has been taken away by them.
"The fact is that of the 40,000 sq kms of Bastar division, only one per cent of the area has been given for mining and this too to public sector companies like National Mineral Development Corporation, Steel Authority of India and the Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation," he said.
Noting that intellectuals and the society at large must rise above such misleading propaganda, Singh urged the 'entire nation to unite' with Chhattisgarh's multi-directional, multi-tier efforts to combat the Naxal problem.
He said Naxalism and terrorism are just 'two faces of the same coin'. A 'decisive battle' against them was necessary to eliminate this terror from the state and the country, Singh said.
"Chhattisgarh is engaged in the biggest battle against Naxals. We all know very well that there is no alternative except armed response," he said.
Singh also listed the steps being taken by his state on the security front and said that at least 10 more battalions of paramilitary forces were urgently required for fighting the Naxals.
Citing intelligence reports about the enormity of the problem, he said the Dandakarnaya Special Zonal Committee of the Naxals now has 7 divisions and 32 area sub-committees under which 50,000 Naxal and militia cadres were engaged in "waging a war against our democracy".
On the campaign against the Naxals, Singh said that 119 security personnel have been killed in the state -- the highest in the country. Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Singh called for an integrated action plan to tackle the menace.
"There are different governments in different states and all of them are dealing with the issue (Naxal) in their own way. An integrated action plan should be made and all of us should agree on one common point," he said.
Pointing out that such meetings help the states to discuss the issue together, Singh said all Naxal-affected states recognise the menace as the biggest security threat and the need to combat it.
