New Delhi: Home minister P Chidambaram told NDTV that he is pained by the attack on a civilian bus in Chhattisgarh that left nearly 50 people dead. "Naxals don't discriminate, only kill," said Chidambaram.
The Home Minister said he has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking more mandate in dealing with the Naxal menace. "I have a limited mandate," said Chidambaram.
Speaking to NDTV, Chidambaram said there is need to revisit operations against the Naxals and that civil society must now answer for today.
"Chhattisgarh and Orissa are flashpoints now. All Chief Ministers back me on using air support, he said.
In the attack on Monday, Naxals targeted a civilian bus on the Dantewada-Sukma road in Chhattisgarh. There were 50 people, including 15 special police officers (SPOs) and local policemen on the bus, reports said. At least 30 civilians feared killed.
This is the first such attack on a civilian passenger bus. Security personnel in civilian clothes traveling on the bus are believed to have been the main targets of the attack. SPOs are mostly local people recruited to fight the Maoists and have emerged as the biggest threat to them.