State not to counter militancy with force : Bhattacharjee

Kolkata, Jun 19 (UNI) West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said his Government was trying to bring the militants in to the mainstream by emphasising on socio-economic development, and not by using force.

''We do not believe in countering force with force. We are trying to put emphasis on socio-economic development and bring the militants in the mainstream,'' he told the West Bengal Assembly while replying to a debate on the Governor's speech.

The Chief Minister said the state had been facing problem of militancy posed by the Kamtapuri Liberation Organisation(KLO) in the north and the Maoists in the south. But the Government would tackle the problem both politically and economically.

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