India: Anti-Maoist drive won't stop soon

NEW DELHI, May 13 (UPI) -- Police in India's Chhattisgarh state said a government-backed offensive against Maoist rebels would continue despite strong opposition.

State Director General of Police Vishwa Ranjan said the Salwa Judum militia would continue despite opposition from human-rights groups and from within the federal government.

He said he told federal Interior Minister Shivraj Patil Sunday the matter was the state government's business, The Asian Age newspaper reported Tuesday.

Ranjan rejected the notion that Salwa Judum was a state-sponsored movement, calling it a people-led drive against Maoist violence in the state.

Chhattisgarh is the worst-hit of nine Indian states wracked by Maoist violence. The rebels want to set up a Maoist republic across the nation.