Naxalite problem cannot be solved by guns: Congress leader

A Congress MP V Hanumantha Rao today said Naxalite problem could not be solved by the guns.

Naxalism poses a challenge to the internal security even as the menace can not be overcome by the batons of guns of the security forces, he told reporters here.

Rao, Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh, sought to differ from the assessment of some UPA ministers about the political agendas of the Naxal outfits and said the genesis of Naxal movement was socio-economic issues.

All Naxalite-affected states should work on socio-economic agendas like generation of employment, poverty alleviation and eradication of illiteracy to lure away the rural people from the clutches of the Naxalite outfits, Rao said.

The Congress leader, who was here to take part in a political function, urged all Naxalite-affected states to emulate the initiatives of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister M Chenna Reddy to tackle Naxal insurgency.