Delhi failing to stem Maoist violence: Patil

"We've been quite successful in controlling terrorism in states like Kashmir and in the northeast but as far as Naxalism (Maoist violence) is concerned, we have not achieved similar results," Home Minister Shivraj Patil said.

Patil's statement to parliament came two weeks after hundreds of armed Maoist guerrillas freed prisoners, including many of their comrades, from a prison in the lawless state of Bihar, which is racked by poverty.

New Delhi has deployed 26,000 federal security personnel to strife-torn states and offered 30 billion rupees (697 million dollars) to state administrations to modernise their police forces, the home minister said.

"There's a need for a concerted approach and joint action with neighbouring states to combat violence," Patil told MPs from various states including regions torn by conflict.

India's Maoists have big popular bases in southern Andhra Pradesh state, home to many multinational companies, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa and several other of the country's 29 states.

"The Indian government is also working on political, security and development fronts and providing assistance to the affected states to enhance their capabilities to deal with the problem," he said.

The outlawed rebels say they are fighting for greater economic and social rights for tribes and landless farmers in rural areas.

Some analysts say India has under-estimated the threat to its stability from ultra-leftists and that strong economic growth has left behind many in urban and rural India.

New Delhi has long feared that Maoist violence in the neighbouring kingdom of Nepal could spill into parts of India.

Besides the Maoists, Islamist guerrillas are fighting New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir while tribal rebels are active in six of India's seven northeastern states.

More than 44,000 people have died in Indian Kashmir since the launch of the revolt in 1989 while tens of thousands of others have perished in the restive northeast since the country's 1947 independence from Britain.

Meanwhile, gunmen shot dead an opposition Hindu nationalist legislator and seven others yesterday in northern India, a senior state official said.

Krishnanand Rai was on his way to a wedding when attackers ambushed his jeep and sprayed it with bullets, Alok Sinha, principal home secretary of Uttar Pradesh state, said.

Rai and seven others -- including supporters and security guards -- were killed near Ballia town, 350 kilometres (220 miles) southeast of the state capital Lucknow, Sinha said.