Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday demanded that the government should call an all-party meeting to discuss the issue of Naxalism and favoured talks with Maoists to "understand their problems".
"The government called an all-party meet to discuss women's reservation bill on April 7....but it did not find it proper to do the same for internal and external security," Yadav said while taking part on a discussion on Dantewada massacre in which 76 security personnel were killed by Maoists.
"Maoists have already announced in West Bengal that they would take over the administration of this country by 2050. This is an alarming situation and government should do something," he said.
Citing the example of Sonebhadra in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav said during his chief ministership, he camped there for months after an attack by Maoists on PAC personnel and defused the situation by listening to the problems of locals. "The government has to initiate talks with Naxalites to understand their problem and find remedies," Yadav said.
He alleged that the police are "detaining innocent people who provided shelter to Naxalites. These people had done this under pressure from the Naxalites. They need help."
Yadav also suggested that the government should not go for further division of the states as smaller states get affected by Naxal problem. He blamed Congress and BJP for "creating small states and the problem of Naxalism".
The SP chief also referred to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ongoing visit to the US and Brazil and said he should not go on foreign tour when Parliament is in session. PTI
