New Delhi, March 30 -- Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that Naxalism did not spread in the country due to poverty, but there was poverty in the concerned areas because of Left Wing Extremism.

Replying to the debate in Lok Sabha on efforts to free the country from Left Wing Extremism, Amit Shah said Naxalism has been almost eradicated from Bastar and the people of the region were left behind in development parameters as "the shadow of Red Terror loomed".

"The root cause of Naxalism is not the demand for development. It is an ideology--an ideology that Indira Ji embraced back in 1970 in order to win the presidential election. Naxalism has spread precisely because of this Leftist ideology," he said.

"Twelve states- Chhattisga...