Reacting to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's claim that "the Naxal threat" is the biggest challenge, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar found the claim "amusing".
The prime minister said this while addressing the chief ministers' meeting on internal security on Thursday.
"The BJP is amused to note that the prime minister has finally acknowledged that the left-wing extremism of Naxals is growing and their base has enlarged. It is the Congress which is responsible for the situation," he charged.
But Javadekar was at his wits end to explain when queried about the daring escape of 300 Naxals from a Chattisgarh jail. He conceded that law and order is a state subject.
"What was the state government doing when the Naxals struck?" agitated newsmen asked Prakash Javadekar. "That is what we are trying to find out," he said, without batting an eyelid.
Javadekar asked who declared ceasefire with Naxals before the elections in Andhra Pradesh?
"Why did the UPA government discontinue coordination action plan and working group arrangement initiated by the National Democratic Alliance government headed by Atal Bihar Vajpayee," he asked.