Maharashtra ready to hold talks with Naxals: R R Patil

The Maharashtra government is ready to hold talks with those involved in Naxal activities as well as their sympathisers, Home Minister R R Patil said on Thursday.

"The state government is ready to engage in a dialogue with people who are directly or indirectly involved in Naxal activities or with those who are supporting Naxal ideologies in urban areas," Patil said, replying to a point of propriety raised by Member of Legislative Council Kapil Patil in the Legislative Council.

The minister also said that the government would lend all possible support to these people and take care of their rehabilitation.

"The government is even ready to provide protection to them. These people should come into the mainstream," Patil urged.

Stating that Naxalism is a socio-economic issue, Patil told legislators in the Upper House that three to four districts in the state are Naxal-infested.

"Because of non-development in these areas, unemployment is on the rise. These people live below the poverty line and their per capita is very low. And those who are unemployed, they take up guns and become Naxals," he said.