Date:20/01/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/01/20/stories/2003012003911100.htm

National

Naxalites trying to create Nepal-Andhra belt: Advani

By Our Staff Reporter

PUTTAPARTHI JAN. 19. The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, has said that naxalites and Maoists have been making efforts to create a belt from Nepal to Andhra Pradesh in the Indian sub-continent. The Union and State Governments, however, are committed to preventing it, he said.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said that the Centre had formed a coordination committee with all the naxalite-affected States — Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand — four years ago to tackle the problem.

The problem had also external dimension with the Maoists becoming active in Nepal.

The panel chaired by the Union Home Secretary had been meeting once every three months to review the situation and to initiate appropriate measures. The Centre had also been extending assistance to the affected States in the form of sophisticated weaponry, training of the personnel and intelligence support, Mr. Advani said.

Referring to the BJP-led NDA Government's successes so far, Mr. Advani said after completing its term in 2004 it would be remembered as the "initiator of several revolutions" in the highways, rural roads and telecommunications sectors. The decision to accord dual citizenship to the NRIs would also be lauded, he said.

About the Centre's generosity in tackling drought, Mr. Advani, who is the Chairman of the National Task Force on Drought, admitted that the problem was acute and forcing the Government to find enduring solutions. Accordingly, foodgrains were given to the people under the Food-for-Work scheme.

On suicide by farmers on large scale in recent years, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the phenomenon was not a fallout of the present conditions. The Government had been making efforts to provide remunerative prices for farm produce. "It needs a better deal than what it has been getting now,'' he felt. He allayed fears of an adverse impact of WTO on the country's agriculture sector and said the policies would, in fact, benefit the farmers in the long run.

Mr. Advani said there were problems concerning waiver of interest on crop loans, which had failed to benefit the farmers. They would be taken into consideration if brought to the Centre's notice by the States. He would also speak to the Finance and Agriculture Ministers.

He, however, said the States should also share the responsibility.