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Maoists are acquiring weapons through Bangladesh, Myanmar and possibly Nepal, according to home minister P Chidambaram, who nonetheless has expressed government’s willingness for a dialogue with them provided they abjure violence. Naxalism remains the biggest internal security threat to India, he said and hit out at intellectuals who still try to “romanticise” the Naxalites. In a wide-ranging interview, Chidambaram said the government is practical enough to understand that the Naxals would not lay down arms.
He said the West Bengal government has “learnt a lesson very late” after the Lalgarh operation but he would not comment much on the West Bengal government’s decision to secure the release of an abducted police official by not opposing the bail application of about 20 pro-Maoist tribals. “In terms of the threat to security from Indian sources or internal sources, Naxalism remains the biggest threat. There is, of course, the other threat which is cross border terrorism but that is emanating from across the border,” he said.
“There is no evidence of any money flowing in from abroad to the Maoists. But there is certainly evidence of weapons being smuggled from abroad through Myanmar or Bangladesh which reach the Maoists.” Asked whether some weapons are coming through Nepal, he said “it is possible”. To a question whether there is any Pakistan angle to it, Chidambaram said they were not sure where the weapons are originating from.
