Chhattisgarh government will 'finish off' Maoists: Rajnath

Raipur:The spiralling Maoist violence in Chhattisgarh will not deter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government from wiping out the Left wing extremists, BJP chief Rajnath Singh said here Tuesday, The Raman Singh government will "finish off the Maoists", the BJP president said after his return from Arabore, in Dantewada district, where armed Maoists had butchered 35 tribespersons on July 17. He said terrorism, Left wing extremism and Nepalese Maoists, all have links with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI and the Chhattisgarh government has accepted the Maoists' challenge. Singh, who is on a day-long visit to the state, flew to Arabore directly from Raipur airport and met the families of the deceased and cadre of the anti-Maoist Salwa Judum movement. "A massive stretch of the country is in the grip of Maoists. The Indian government should urgently convene a meeting of chief ministers of Maoist-infested states to chalk out a joint action plan," Singh told reporters at the BJP state headquarters here. "I held discussions today with several Salwa Judum members and families of the July 17 victims. I salute their courage and determination. The Bastar tribes people are raring to weed out the Maoists despite the killing sprees," he said. In a veiled attack on the Congress and its coalition partners, mainly the Left parties, for seeking a repeal of the Salwa Judum movement, Singh said "those who are opposing the movement are indirectly supporting Maoist militants".