State governments had a greater responsibility and role in tackling Maoists than the Centre

Union home minister P Chidambaram on Saturday reiterated his stand that state governments had a greater responsibility and role in tackling Maoists than the Centre. At a press meet here, he said the Centre's role, according to the mandate given to the ministry of home affairs, was to provide paramilitary forces to state governments to help them carry out anti-Maoist operations, to regain control over areas (dominated by Naxalites), to restore civic administration and to restart developmental activities.