Left parties today condemned the brutal Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh saying they disapproved violent retribution against political opponents, but opposed the killings of and atrocities against innocent tribals there.

"This is the latest and most shocking example of the politics of violence and terror practiced by the Maoists against all their political opponents," the CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement.

Accusing the Chhattisgarh government of lack of security arrangements for the Congress yatra, it said, "On the one hand the BJP government allows the killing of innocent tribals as happened last week in the name of fighting Maoists and on the other hand it utterly fails to protect legitimate democratic activities in the state." It also demanded firm action to stop Maoist depredations and appealed to all democratic forces to fight the politics of violence by the extremists.