The failure of Andhra Pradesh Government's dialogue with the naxal organizations and the spread of naxal menace necessitated the Center to take cognizance of the problem. Accordingly, the Home Ministry organized the Chief Ministers' Conference on Internal Security and Law and Order in New Delhi in April. Among the new proposals that came up for discussion, the long-term coordination by the Center with the naxal affected states holds the key for successful implementation of those proposals.

The peace talks with the Andhra Pradesh government were skillfully utilized by the naxalites to regroup and regain their strength, lost in the counter naxalite operation started by the Chandrababu Naidu government. According to the Union Home Ministry estimates, during this period, the Maoists have increased their core strength of 6000 armed guerillas by another 1200. They managed to merge the CPI (ML), Peoples' War and the MCC to increase their manpower and firepower. The left wing extremism increased its spread from 12 states and 155 districts to 15 states and 160 districts.

In the Chief Ministers conference it was decided to constitute a high-power panel to tackle the problem. The proposed committee will consist of Chief Ministers of states that are the worst hit by the Naxal problem. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rightly pointed out that insurgencies have political dimensions as well and that extremist violence needs a political management of the security situation. He has drawn a line between violence that is a law and order problem only and violence that has socio-economic and political underpinnings. This complexity of countering Naxal violence is widely recognized and the committee would need to address socio-economic, developmental and political factors.

Headed by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, the committee will have nine Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttaranchal, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh. It will periodically meet and decide upon the steps to check naxal activity. It will take inputs from the Coordination Center headed by the Union Home Secretary and also take into account socio-economic and political factors behind the spread of Naxal violence. This was the first of its kind conference where the PM was present during the entire meeting.

Governments fighting Naxal extremism should bear in mind that their campaign will succeed only if the socio-economic roots of the crisis are addressed. If not, the revolutionary rhetoric of extremist groups will draw marginalized sections into their fold. There is a need for the state to be cautious in its use of the coercive apparatus. The people centric developmental activities are essential to counter the spread of Naxal violence and called upon the Centre to review existing forest conservation laws in order to protect the rights of adivasis in forest areas. Strict implementation of the Minimum Wages Act and the Land Reforms Act are necessary initial steps for this systemic overhaul.

The proposed committee will be successful in its task only if there is cooperation among the states. The area of operations of Naxal groups has grown rapidly over the past couple of years and this has been possible because states do not work together in tackling the problem. There has been a disagreement among the Congress-ruled and the BJP-ruled states over the policy measures to tackle the naxal problem. When under pressure in one state, extremists have been able to slip through the net and find sanctuary in neighbouring states. The Center should use its discretion by giving common policy direction to all the state governments regarding this. At the just-concluded conference, chief ministers were unanimous on the need for a committee to tackle Naxal extremism. There is need to show a similar unanimity of purpose and action in their operations against left wing extremism.