New Delhi, March 30 -- Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday, March 30, that Naxalism did not spread in the country due to demand for development and poverty, but because of an ideology that, he said, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi "embraced" in 1970. Amit Shah also said that Indira Gandhi accepted this ideology to "win the presidential election".

Replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on efforts to free the country from Left Wing Extremism, Amit Shah said that Naxalism has almost been eradicated from Bastar district in Chhattisgarh.

Rejecting poverty as a reason behind the surge in Naxalism, the home minister said there was poverty in the concerned areas because of Left Wing Extremism. He also said that people in Bastar di...