Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Wednesday struck a discordant note on the government's anti-Maoist policy, saying the leftist rebels were "part of our society" and that the problem should be tackled with sustained development and not with an "enforced action alone".

"Naxal elements are a part of our society even though they have been misled into following the path of violence," Nitish Kumar said in his address at the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with chief ministers of Maoist-affected states.