Rahul blames states for Maoist menace

Handout picture shows Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi (R) gestures as he meets supporters while on a visit to the eastern Indian state of Jharkand on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Congress party general secretary Rahul Gandhi yesterday blamed the Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh governments for the Maoist problem.
Rahul told reporters that while Maoists were a law and order problem, state governments were not taking programmes meant to uplift the poor to those for whom these were intended.
Rahul named Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh in this connection. Two of these are ruled by non-Congress governments.
Rahul said while prime minister had termed the Maoist problem as the country's biggest internal security threat, he (Rahul ) did not view it as a civil war.
Rahul arrived in Jharkhand Wednesday on a two-day visit to tour districts where Maoists are active.
Earlier Rahul on Thursday offered his condolences to the family of slain Jharkhand Special Branch police inspector Francis Enduwar.
Surrounded by a tight security cordon, Rahul visited the Enduwar family.
"He consoled me and asked me to keep patience. He said, he has also undergone the same trauma. His father was killed," said Sunita Induwar, Francis's wife.
On September 30, Maoists had kidnapped Francis from Jharkhand's Khunti district. They wanted the release of two of their leaders Kobad Ghandy and Chatrodhar Mahato in exchange for his release.
Francis's headless body was found on the Jamshedpur-Ranchi Highway on October 6. It was then reported that a note had been found with a warning to the government that they could expect more of the same treatment if their demands were not acceded to.