Pranab links Naxal rise to denial of rights, lack of development

source - indian express
Admitting that successive governments had failed to adequately address the concerns of the people in backward and tribal regions, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said corrective steps were required to ensure that the rise of Naxalism in these areas was checked.
Speaking at the annual day function of the CRPF here, Mukherjee said while Naxalite groups needed to be dealt with “firmly” and “resolutely”, the armed offensive must be “dovetailed” with development initiatives.
“The rise of left-wing extremism in the backward areas of the country is, in a way, a reflection of our failure in meeting the expectations of the local people. It is easy to misguide people who have been denied their legitimate demands or deprived of their rights and where the state has not shown adequate sensitivity in sharing and mitigating the local concerns,” Mukherjee said.

Addressing the personnel of the CRPF, that is doing the bulk of the fighting against Naxalite groups, Mukherjee said while the use of force was necessary to bring back normalcy in these areas, so that “correctives” could be applied, they should act with “sensitivity, patience and maturity”.
“It is vital to dovetail the developmental efforts of the State in these areas with your operational strategy and practice. While we should be firm, decisive and unrelenting in dealing with the armed component of the extremism, a great degree of sensitivity, patience and maturity will have to be exhibited in dealing with the general population in the affected areas,” he said.
“I urge you to handle the situation with sensitivity and a firm resolve with a view to bring back the disgruntled elements of the society into the mainstream of developmental process,” he said.