Two days after describing the Chhattisgarh attack as "holocaust", Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh Tuesday said Naxalites were "terrorists" since they spread terror. He said security in Naxal areas needs to be stepped up for development work.

Ramesh, who was with some of the slain Congress leaders two days before the attack in Bijapur, has always propagated the two-track approach of development alongside security to tackle the issue.

Condemning their methods, Ramesh said Maoists should learn from Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal who has entered the democratic process to try and change the system. "Kejriwal is unhappy with the system but has decided to contest elections which is the only democratic way. The Maoists should enter the system if they want to change it, why take up guns," he said. Ramesh also slammed intellectuals who "romanticise Maoists".

Ramesh said the government's development in LWE areas needs to be more targeted and focus on 20-25 most severely affected districts, which ought to be treated differentially. According to him, greater investment in critical infrastructure has to be made in these areas and more projects need to be launched. "Since these are the areas where Naxals mostly recruit, we have to introduce massive skill development and employment programmes," Ramesh said.

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