'MAOIST THREAT A LONG BLOODY WAR'

Maoist threat is going to be a long bloody war, because the armed rebel cadres are highly motivated and trained, Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said while speaking at the Eminent Persons Lecture Series at the Institute of Defence Studies Analyses in the Capital on March 5. He admitted that capacities of the state police forces were limited at the moment to take on the challenge. “We have a long bloody war ahead. It is going to be a long haul and I see violence going up. We do not have the forces to move into the areas where they (Maoists) are positioned,” Pillai said. Last year alone, Maoist violence accounted for over 1,100 deaths, the largest seen in recent years. The government has decided to reassert the authority of the civil administration in these rebel strongholds. “There is a vacuum in governance. It’s a slow process, there are lots of problems and the causes are many,” said Pillai.