Left-wing extremists to be dealt with law and order: Shivshankar Menon

India today dismissed concerns about threats to its nuclear assets by Left-wing extremists and said that it is an internal issue of the country which will be dealt with law and order.
    
"I can assure you that you don't need to worry about the Left-wing extremism affecting our nuclear assets and I speak with some knowledge of this issue," national security adviser Shivshankar Menon said in response to a question after addressing an international security forum in Singapore.

It is an internal issue without external links, he said. "We will combat it through law and order."

The Maoist-affected areas would also be developed for economic growth and any cause of dissatisfaction there would be removed, Menon said.

On Afghanistan, he told the IISS Asian Security Summit that India would continue to help it become a peaceful society and develop its economy.

"We will continue to do what we have been doing so far, which by our standard is a relatively large programme of assistance," he said.

India would certainly encourage Afghanistan's transition into a much better place, Menon said, adding the country would
do what Kabul wanted it to do for them.

On the issue of UN reform, Menon said the existing organs of power in the international system should be rebuilt to reflect today's realities.

"For international peace and security this would require restructuring and expanding of the UN Security Council," Menon said.

"And, most important, we need to build the habits and experience of cooperation that will enable us to deal with the unpredictable challenges that will certainly confront us," said Menon, assuring that Indian would participate in such processes.