NGOs an obstacle in fight against Maoists: Munde

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Gopinath Munde, criticised non-government organisations (NGOs) and peoples’ organisations that support the Naxalites.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Gopinath Munde, criticised non-government organisations (NGOs) and peoples’ organisations that support the Naxalites.

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“The organisations supporting Naxalites are not NGOs but obstacles in the fight against Naxalism,” Munde said at a book launch function in Mumbai on Saturday.

Munde said there was a need to undertake development work in Naxal-hit areas.

He said the government should retaliate when Naxalites resort to violence.

“People shouldn’t be asking the government not to react. Everyone has a right to fight back. What is the fault of the CRPF jawans who were shot dead? They had a right to retaliate as well,” Munde said.

Munde, who also held the post of Maharashtra’s Home minister when the Shiv Sena-BJP government was in power in the 1990s, said using violent methods to tackle incidents of terror was justified.

“It took nearly 400 encounter deaths to effectively tackle the menace of extortion in Mumbai,” he said.

Munde, who has progressed to the national political scene, ratified his party’s commitment in standing by any policy announced by the government to tackle Naxalism.

“This is an issue of national security. The BJP will whole-heartedly support the government in whatever steps it takes to tackle Naxal violence,” he said.