The BJP on Wednesday said it was lack of support within the government and internal contradictions that led home minister Mr P. Chidambaram to change his earlier stand on the Naxal issue.
The party said while Mr Chidambaram had earlier mentioned of “limited mandate” coming in the way of tackling the Naxal menace, he has now taken a “safer position” on the issue by saying that the context of a “limited mandate” only meant that the states must tackle Naxalism and the Centre would only play a “supportive role.”
The party had said that due to this “limited mandate” Mr Chidambaram was an “injured martyr” and the fight against Naxalism would be just “half a battle”.
This had prompted the home minister to state that the BJP should not play partisan politics on the issue.
He had further said that the Centre’s responsibility was only to provide additional paramilitary forces and other logistical support to states fighting Maoist violence.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the BJP lamented that Mr Chidambaram, who was “proactive” on this issue initially, was now “hiding behind the logic of responsibility”.
The party alleged that “the enthusiasm to lead the battle against Maoists now seems to have diluted” with Mr Chidambaram’s latest stand on the issue.