Bengal-Jharkhand talks needed to check Maoist threat: Bhattacharjee

Kolkata, Jun 22 (UNI) Ruling out any joint move against Maoists with Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said the state needed dialogues with the neighbouring Jharkhand to check infiltration of the Left ultras.

" Jharkhand is the main problem for us. We need to hold talks with the Jharkhand Government as Maoists are entering West Bengal from the neighbouring state, " he told the state Assembly.

To a question of Congress member Sudip Banerjee, Mr Bhattacharjee said he had talks with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y Rajshekhar Reddy on the Naxalite problem at a breakfast meeting in Hyderabad recently. But the state would not be benefited by doing so since Maoists from Andhra Pradesh were sneaking into West Bengal via Orissa and Jharkhand.

He said review meetings on the problem of Naxalism were sometimes held in Delhi and there were talks about joint operation by the affected states. But nothing had been done so far.

He said in order to combat naxalite activities, the Government was in the process of recruiting more police for police stations in the Maoist-affected Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore districts.

Efforts were also on to provide them sophisticated weapons and impart high level training by CRPF and the Army.

To another question, the Chief Minister said altogether 291 Maoist and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) extremists were arrested in the state in 2004 and 2005.

UNI KDG SJC/SRC1811