Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday called upon the CPI (Maoist) activists to shun violence and join the electoral politics to “carry forward the development of the underprivileged, especially the tribals.”
“This is high time the Maoists dropped guns and joined the electoral politics for the development of the adivasis. They must know that no problem can be solved at gunpoint,” the Union minister, before winding up his two-day visit to the Naxal-hit Malkangiri district, nearly 650 km from here, said.
Mr Ramesh also pooh-poohed Maoists’ claims that they were fighting for the tribals.
“The Maoists claim themselves to be the saviours of the tribals and the poor. In reality, they are derailing the development process by resorting to violence. If they are really concern about development of the tribals and the poor, they must give up violence first and join social mainstream, participate in electoral politics,” he observed.
Stating that the Maoists were deviating from their ideology, Mr Ramesh said the rebels were depriving the tribals and the poor of their legitimate rights by disturbing the peace process.