This Article is From Jul 30, 2010

Quiet dialogue in J&K, confident of tackling Naxals: Chidambaram

New Delhi: Home Minister P Chidambaram has said he favours a "quiet dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir". The Home Minister admitted there has been an interruption in the process but said  he " has no reservation in talking to our own people."

Chidambaram's statement came on a day when there has been fresh violence in Srinagar. Curfew has been imposed in Jammu and Kashmir's capital as 20 people were injured in clashes with security forces.

Chidambaram reiterated that he was confident of "containing Naxalism in the next three years."

On Thursday, the Home Minister had told  the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Home Affairs that the challenge of left wing extremism would be met jointly by the Central and state governments. (Read: 'Will overcome Maoist problem in three years')

Chidambaram informed Parliamentarians that in a meeting of Chief Ministers of seven Naxal-affected states on July 14, it was agreed that a Unified Command would be set up in four states.

According to an estimate, about 40,000 sq km areas in the states of West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, are under the control of Maoists.

Naxal violence has claimed the lives of over 10,000 civilians and security personnel in the last five years.
.