'No unity in UPA over fighting Naxals'

With senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh publicly expressing his differences with Home Minister P Chidambaram on the Naxal issue, the BJP today said there was "no unanimity" in the government and the ruling party over fighting the menace.

With senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh publicly expressing his differences with Home Minister P Chidambaram on the Naxal issue, the BJP today said there was "no unanimity" in the government and the ruling party over fighting the menace.

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"...Digvijay Singh publicly criticised Chidambaram on the whole issue of naxalism. It is evident that there is no unanimity in the Congress on the fight against Maoists," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The country "needs to speak in one voice in this war-like situation. But there is no unanimity in the Congress and the UPA on the issue," he charged.

The main opposition has backed Chidambaram since the gruesome killing of 76 CRPF and security personnel by naxals in Dantewada. It went to the extent of saying if Chidambaram were to step down, as demanded by certain quarters, it would send a wrong signal he was running away from the challenge.

"Digvijay Singh's statement only reinforces our apprehensions that the Central forces were sent without any proper preparations," Prasad said.

Though the opposition has not personally targetted Chidambaram, it has been critical of the UPA government's overall approach to tackling naxalism and has accused it of being soft.