**India’s Home Minister P Chidambaram has said he takes “full responsibility” for the killing of 76 paramilitary troops in a Maoist ambush on Tuesday.**The attack, in a densely forested part of the central state of Chhattisgarh, is the deadliest assault on security forces by Maoist insurgents to date.
Rebels have intensified such attacks in response to a major anti-Maoist offensive by the government.
But the opposition says the government has failed to tackle the insurgency.
“I have been asked directly and indirectly, where does the buck stop for what happened,” said Mr Chidambaram, who was appointed home minister after the 2008 Mumbai attacks to improve homeland security.
“I have no hesitation in saying the buck stops at my desk,” he said while paying tribute to the dead personnel.
The government says it will consider use of the air force to help police in future offensives against the rebels, but has so far ruled out using the army.
The Maoist insurgency - which began in the state of West Bengal in 1967 - has now spread to at least 20 of the country’s 28 states.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the insurgency as India’s biggest internal security threat.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.