Growth with effective PDS only way to fight Naxalism,says Nitish

While suggesting an acceleration of development and strengthening of security in Maoist-infested areas,Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar advised restraint to political leadership while talking about Naxal violence.

While suggesting an acceleration of development and strengthening of security in Maoist-infested areas,Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar advised restraint to political leadership while talking about Naxal violence.

Speaking does not help much, Nitish Kumar said when asked what advice did he have for Home Minister P Chidambaram in the aftermath of the Dantewada massacre. He was responding to questions from media persons at an interaction with members of the Indian Womens Press Corps on Saturday.

Nitish said he could suggest on the basis of his own experience with Jahanabad,which became the hotbed of ultra-Left violence over three decades back,that the government had to tone up the delivery system at the local level,free it of corruption and inefficiency,saturate the area with development and make the PDS effective. Failing this,even if the security forces eliminated Maoists in one area,they were bound to resurface in some other area.

Nitish admitted he and JD(U) president Sharad Yadav differed over the Womens Reservation Bill. He says the Bill should not be brought without this (a provision for sub-quotas for minorities,OBCs,SCs and STs),I say let the Bill be passed first and the issue of quota within quota can be discussed later. However,he made it clear,both of them stood by the stated party position in favour of reservations for women as well as quotas within quota. There were no differences over any other issue between him and Sharad Yadav,he added.

The Bihar Chief Minister recalled he had given a note of dissent when the joint parliamentary committee headed by CPI member Geeta Mukherjee had submitted its report on the womens reservations. But,he changed his view after he saw the impact of his own decision to introduce 50 per cent quota for women in panchayats.

About the proposed Food Security Bill,Nitish said there was a vast gap between the state and Central figures vis-à-vis BPL families. The Centre accepted only 65 lakh BPL families against 1.40 crore enumerated by the state. This matter could be resolved either through the enforcement of a mutually agreed criteria or the appointment of a statutory commission for the identification of BPL families.

Modi,Varun need not campaign: Nitish hint

NEW DELHI: BJP leaders Narendra Modi and Varun Gandhi are not needed for campaigning for the Assembly elections in Bihar,Chief Minister Nitish Kumar suggested on Saturday. This is not national elections but state elections. Workers of (state unit of) BJP are capable of putting forth their views before the people, the leader of BJP ally JD(U) said.