Don't romanticise Naxal movement, says Pranab

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has attacked ‘root-cause theorists’ in civil society, who routinely purvey the “lack of development” to justify spread of Naxalism, and said Maoists were engaged in a political project to capture power, using guns.

Speaking at a seminar on “Development in Red Corridor” in the Capital on Thursday, Mr Mukherjee said, “development is needed. Lack of development may swell their (Naxals’) cadre. But they do not run charitable institutions... They are political elements and want to capture power.”

He said the issue was simplified when it is said that Maoist violence was due to lack of development and lack of opportunities and basic amenities. This is not the sole reason. “This is more imaginary than actual.”

The finance minister’s statement runs contrary to the line of the ‘activist wing’ of the Congress that gloss over the law and order dimension of the problem and the need for tough actions. “They (Naxals) want to take over the establishment and not in a democratic manner... They treat themselves as equal to government and parallel to the government and they think that they can overthrow the present establishment by virtue of guns,” Mr Mukherjee said, in what he later termed as an ‘extempore speech’.

He took a swipe at a section of civil society, which has been supporting the Naxal movement. “Some people are romanticising the issue. This is very dangerous.” He, however, agreed on the need for a “dialogue with misguided people to bring them back into mainstream.”

Recalling the Naxal movement in West Bengal in the early 1970s, Mr Mukherjee said that he thought it would never end. “It did not last long and cannot last long,” he remarked.

Mr Mukherjee aware of the impact of his statements added an oft-repeated disclaimer at the end of the speech. “These are my personal views and not that of the party or the government. These are stray thoughts that I am speaking.”