Specific info about Naxal plans to target cities: Shinde

The government has specific information that Naxals are trying to expand their bases in urban centre and may try to target cities, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Thursday.

"We have this information for long. We have information about Pune. This can happen in other places. We have this information," he told reporters in New Delhi.

Shinde was responding to a question about reports which suggested that major urban centres may witness targeted killings by Maoists in coming months.

The home minister said the Maoists have been trying to set up bases in many urban centres.

Shinde also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday in New Delhi and apprised her of the actions by the government in connection with May 25 Maoist attack on party leaders in Bastar.

Asked whether the Chhattisgarh government had failed to provide proper security to the Congress 'Parivartan Yatra' on May 25 which was attacked by the Naxals killing 27 people, Shinde said the judicial inquiry ordered by the state government would find out the truth.

The home minister also said he would visit Chhattisgarh on Friday to make an on the spot assessment of the situation.

On the possibility of holding peace talks with Naxals, Shinde said, "When there is no offer (from Maoists), whom will we talk to? With you?"

Asked whether there were any shortcomings in government policy in dealing with the Naxals, he said the current strategy was satisfactory.

 "Some time lapses do take place. We have to be more alert. We have to fight back. We have to give more attention to the welfare of the tribals," he said.

On the demands for imposition of President's rule in Chhattisgarh, Shinde said it was quite natural to raise such demands in a democratic set up.