Those waging war against extremism must be protected: Congress
New Delhi, May 26: The Congress party Sunday said it is incumbent upon the state governments to ensure that those who wage political battle against the Left-wing extremism are well protected.
"Violence needs to be dealt with a combination of hard power and soft power. But it is also incumbent upon the state government to see that all those who wage political battle against the Left-wing extremism or such separatist ideologies are protected," Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told reporters here.
A
large
group
of
Maoists,
hiding
in
a
foresteed
area
of
the
southern
Bastar
region,
carried
out
an
attack
on
a
Congress
party
convoy
in
Chhattisgarh
Saturday
evening.
The
guerrillas
felled
trees
to
block
the
convoy,
carried
out
a
landmine
blast
and
then
opened
random
fire,
resulting
in
the
death
of
at
least
16
people,
including
two
senior
Congress
leaders,
and
injuries
to
25
others.
The Congress convoy was targeted near Darbha forest in Jagdalpur, about 340 km south of the Chhattisgarh capital Raipur.
"It is not rocket science to figure out as to who was responsible for this very, very cowardly attack. There are forces of the Left-wing extremism who believe in the violent overthrow of the Indian state," Tewari said.
IANS