Shun hostility, come for talks: Chhattisgarh CM to Naxals

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Tuesday urged Maoists to shun violence and come to the negotiation table.

"We have not stopped the process of dialogue with Naxals. It should go forward because the issue can be resolved only through dialogue and not by getting involved in an arms ace," he told reporters.

Singh said he was ready for talks with the ultras at any forum.

On whether he was getting support from the Centre, Singh said the state had good coordination with the Union government on the issue.

The CM said he would keep the Naxal issue away from politics.

"Yes, former home minister P Chidambaram supported us in tackling the Naxal menace. However, I would like to keep Naxalism away from politics. It is an issue engulfing the country and not a particular state," he said.

He said security forces have been capturing the areas under the siege of Naxals.

"We are trying to win the hearts of Naxals. We are taking our Public Distribution System there and are trying to rebuild the bridges which were destroyed by them," the chief minister claimed.

"Even in the worst Naxal-affected areas, PDS is not an issue," he said.

He called upon the need to replicate the success model of PDS to overcome the challenge of food security across the country.

"The outcome of the state government's initiative in food and nutritional security has been no hunger deaths or farmer suicides," he said.