Insurgency in northeast ebbing: Chidambaram

NEW DELHI, June 5 (Agencies): Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday said the problem of left-wing extremism was affecting some eastern states in the country but most of the insurgent groups in northeast were now holding talks with the Centre.

“The States which are affected by this left-wing extremism are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal to some extent,” the Minister told media persons in Bhopal.

Stating that northeast has a very special place in the country, he said most of the insurgent groups there had entered into a dialogue with the government.

Terror incidents in northeast and in Jammu and Kashmir last year were the lowest in two decades, he said.

Right now, Madhya Pradesh is among the states which not affected by Naxalism. However, he raised the Naxal issue with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan when they met earlier in the day. “I have asked him to come to New Delhi to make a presentation on the State on the issue,” Mr. Chidambaram said.

Earlier, all the three Ministers, including Union Ministers Salman Khurshid and V. Narayanasamy, listed the achievements of UPA-II government and said it had done good work for the country, especially in the social sector, under challenging situations.