New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar claimed that “urban naxalization” is prevalent in big cities of Maharashtra on Thursday. Pawar was speaking in Gadchiroli after an encounter on Saturday that killed 27 Maoists including senior Maoist leader Milind Teltumbde.
Gadchiroli district borders Chhattisgarh and is under the red corridor which demarcates the naxal affected areas. While talking to reporters, Pawar talked about a “new phenomenon” where some elements are trying to infuse hatred against the government in other parts of the state too.
“We can call this urban naxalization,” said Pawar.
According to PTI, Pawar told reporters, “Some such forces are active in Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai and in parts of the Sahyadri ranges, as far as Kerala. There is a section which is trying to create public opinion and hatred against the government.”
Pawar also warned that “Special caution should be taken about this aspect immediately, otherwise new problems would emerge.”
The NCP leader and the four-times chief minister of Maharashtra also pushed for industrial development through mining in the Gadchiroli district. Recently, a protest was staged by locals against mining.
On concerns of a threat to the tribal livelihood, he said that to help the tribal community, farming should be improved.
“I feel that to remove the frustration of the young generation here, they should get job opportunities. Surjagarh will give them this right and opportunity in a big way and an important and permanent industry will develop here,” he said.
“Two things are important in this district, one is agriculture and on the other hand the industrialization of the entire state has given impetus to Chandrapur district,” Pawar tweeted on Thursday.