Need to fight Naxal menace unitedly, says BJP

New Delhi: With Chhattisgarh government under attack for failing to provide adequate security to Congress leaders killed in Saturday's Naxal attack, BJP on Monday said there was a need to fight the menace unitedly by rising above political lines. The BJP Parliamentary Board, which met here this evening, also decided that party chief Rajnath Singh along with general secretary in charge of Chhattisgarh JP Nadda will visit the state on Wednesday.

The BJP leaders will meet the family members of Congress leaders Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma and others who were killed in the incident on Saturday last, party leader Ananth Kumar told reporters after the meeting. He said the BJP leaders will also meet the injured at Jagdalpur and Raipur. Earlier, the BJP leaders were to visit the state tomorrow but the programme was postponed. "Security was provided, but the unfortunate incident took place. In the last ten years in Chhattisgarh and other states, Naxal violence has claimed lives of several innocent people and securitymen... therefore, it is not an issue of security lapse but how the Centre and the affected states have to coordinate their efforts and fight," Kumar said.

He was responding to a question on allegations that the BJP government failed to provide security for the Congress

leaders. Kumar said BJP has always followed the line that investigations should reveal issues like security lapses so that "corrective course" can be adopted. He said even after the Mumbai attacks, BJP had extended support to the government to deal with the situation. Asked about his reaction to the reported decision of Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to extend his stay in the US despite a security situation in the country, Kumar said he would not get involved in a "blame game".

The Parliamentary Board meeting was attended by Rajnath Singh, senior party leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, besides Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley. Nadda briefed the meeting about the situation in the state.