Gadchiroli

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said "urban Naxals" from outside the state were using foreign funds to spread rumours and keep the people of Gadchiroli away from the path of development.

Fadnavis was addressing a gathering at the Lloyds Metals & Energy Ltd, Konsari, after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of various projects in Gadchiroli district

Naxalism is shrinking in Gadchiroli, and very few Naxalites, who can be counted on fingers, are left in the forests here, he said.

The CM appealed Naxalites to shun violence and join the mainstream.

He, however, cautioned that at a time when the number of gun-wielding Naxalites is shrinking, "urban Naxalism" is on the rise.

"We need to be alert about 'urban Naxals', who are spreading false information," he said.

When Gadchiroli started progressing and the foundation of a steel plant was laid here, the very next day a campaign and posts started on social media claiming tribals were being killed and the steel plant was getting constructed on their lands, he said.

The campaigns also claimed forests were being cut on a large scale, Fadnavis noted.

The CM said he was surprised how all of a sudden such a campaign started when the government had not done anything like that and was working towards development taking everyone along.

The government asked the police department and Gadchiroli IG Sandeep Patil to find out who those people were, he said.

"You will be surprised to know that these people were not from Maharashtra. Two persons were sitting in Kolkata, while two were sitting in Bengaluru and they had been working on foreign funding. They were using these funds to instigate people against the Constitution, through such posts on social media," he said.

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Some people (urban Naxals) like them are trying to create confusion among people by spreading rumours to keep them away from development, the chief minister said.