May 3: The Centre on Monday said that there will be no dilution in its two-pronged approach of accelerated development and calibrated police action to deal with Maoists. Home minister P. Chidambaram asserted that on both the fronts, the primary responsibility rests
with the state governments though the Centre has an important role to play by giving assistance for developmental activities and Central paramilitary forces for aiding the state police forces during the anti-Naxal operations.
Addressing a meeting of the consultative committee of the home ministry, Mr Chidambaram refuted allegations that security forces are working with obsolete weapons. The home minister said that the Centre has equipped its paramilitary forces deployed in Naxal-affected areas with latest weapons. State governments have also started acquiring modern weapons, but they have some distance to cover, he said.
Mr Chidambaram pointed out that the main area of concern is the lack of required manpower, as the vacancy level in state police forces is very high.
“These vacancies need to be filled up quickly and the recruited personnel need to be imparted necessary training before they can be deployed for anti-Naxal operations,” Mr Chidambaram said.