BJP asks Govt. to take Maoist threat seriously

New Delhi, July 15 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday cautioned the Centre to be careful over the issue of Maoist threat and address the problem with all the seriousness it deserved.

The party blamed the Congress-led UPA government for having a laid back approach over the persisting threat from Maoists.

"The Naxalites (Maoist) have drawn a strategy to expand their regime from Pashupati Nath in Nepal to Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. Most of the states are affected; 165 districts are affected in the country. It's not any one party problem, it's a big national challenge but unfortunately that the present government seems not to understand the seriousness and the depth of the situation. We urge upon the government not only to call the chief ministers' meetings but to see that this serious issue is addressed in all the seriousness it deserves," said Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Venkaiah Naidu in the capital.

The Maoists have recently stepped up attacks against police, officials and civilians away from remote rural areas and closer to towns and cities across India -- a worry to potential investors, as the country grapples with the global slowdown.

Hundreds of Maoists, who are expanding their influence in India, had declared the town of Lalgarh about 170 km (100 miles) from Kolkata, as a "liberated zone" recently before they fled due to security forces combing operation. (ANI)