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No one should mistake the strength of Indian state: Pilot

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Press Trust of India New Delhi
Naxalites should be dealt with an "iron fist" and nobody should mistake the strength of the Indian state, Union minister Sachin Pilot today said as he dubbed the recent killings of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh as "cold blooded" murder done with military precision.

"Let nobody mistake the strength of the Indian state. You cannot talk on gunpoint. We cannot allow Maoists massacring people," the Union Minister for Corporate Affairs told PTI.

"They (Naxals) need to be dealt with an iron fist and the governments two-pronged strategy of development and operations going hand in hand will surely bring results," he said.
 

Calling the Naxalites nothing but "pure terrorists", Pilot said their latest act of killing 27 people in Chhattisgarh including top state Congress leaders of the state is akin to "waging war against the nation as they butchered these people in broad daylight" without any respect for human life.

The MP from Rajasthan's Ajmer said that "we will have to take up this challenge and security forces will have to ensure that Naxalites are flushed out" not only from Chhattisgarh but from all the Left-wing extremism-affected areas.

He said that the government and his party were all for the development of local tribals but peace and tranquillity have to be essential component in this approach.

He said that the Maoists should abjure violence and then come to the talking table.

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First Published: May 30 2013 | 6:42 PM IST

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