Modi goes ‘soft’ over Naxals, then talks tough

May 21, 2010 - Age Correspondent |

New Delhi

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi made a turnaround in his position on how to tackle the Maoist insurgency on Thursday after senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders expressed unhappiness over the “soft” line he had taken in the morning.

The chief minister took the party by surprise with his remarks at a function in Aligarh on Thursday morning when he declared himself in favour of talks with the ultra-left rebels, saying that the “Naxals are our own people”.
This was totally contrary to the hard line that the party had adopted on the issue.
Speaking at a university function in Aligarh, Mr Modi said: “We have to make (the Naxals) understand that talks are the only way, and that killing people is not going to solve any problem.”
This left the Bharatiya Janata Party stunned, and word was sent to the chief minister, who then shifted gear quite rapidly.
Talking to reporters after a Planning Commission meeting in New Delhi on Thursday evening, Mr Modi said the government “should take strong action against Naxals (as) killing of innocent people cannot be tolerated.”

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