Tackling Naxalites tougher than cross border terror: Nirupam

Betwa Sharma
New York, Nov 2 (PTI) Tackling the home-grown problem of
Naxalites is more difficult than combating terrorism sponsored
from outside the country, Congress party MP (Member of
Parliament) Sanjay Nirupam has said.
"The Naxals are basically our own people, they're not
coming from outside India... they are very much in our
villages, in our cities... they are very much part of our
families so it is very difficult to identify them," Nirupam,
on a visit here, said.
"You can take action against the outsiders but you can't
always take very strong action against people who are from
your own family," the MP from Mumbai North told PTI.
Noting that almost 200 of 630 districts in the Naxal
belt that extends from the North East to Andhra Pradesh, have
been affected by violence, the politician from Mumbai said
development work was only possible once fighting ceased.
"First you have to surrender and give up that line," he
said.
As Mumbai observes the anniversary of last year's terror
attack this month, Nirupam said that security was being beefed
up in the city, and especially along the coasts.
"We're working very hard to protect our borders to
stop any infiltration," he said. (MORE) PTI