Naxals don't target common people, says Lalu

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad held that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, who has described Maoists as "biggest terrorists", responsible for the spread of Maoism in his state.

"Whatever Raman Singh says about Naxalites, whom he yesterday termed as the biggest terrorists, he cannot be absolved of the responsibility for their spread," Prasad told reporters in Patna. He also criticised Nitish Kumar government in Bihar for "failure" to tackle Maoists.

"Kumar has done nothing to check Naxalism in Bihar and is responsible for expansion of their activities," he said and dismissed Nitish Kumar's charge that the Centre was not cooperating with the state to tackle the problem. When his attention was drawn to recent spurt in Naxalite activity in Chhatsigarh and Maoist attack on a bus two days back, Prasad said normally the Naxalites do not target common people.

"The Naxalites never target common people as we have observed during past several years...It is a different matter that Naxalites used to avenge those who spied for police," he said.

Continuing his tirade at Kumar, who was currently on 'Biswas Yatra', Parasad said he was targeting the Centre "to hide" his government's failure to reach the assistance to the flood victims of the Kosi belt.