Bhubaneswar, April 6: Leaders of four rebel-hit states ruled by the NDA today expressed concern over the growing Maoist menace in the eastern region as BJP president Rajnath Singh embarked on his Bharat Suraksha yatra.

Two hours before he set out on his yatra on an orange-green Swaraz Mazda, the BJP chief turned the heat on the Centre for going ?soft? on Maoists. Rajnath said: ?Left-wing extremism is the prime area of concern as it has raised its ugly head in Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. Development can be possible only when it is put to an end.?

Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh, his counterparts in Jharkhand and Orissa, Arjun Munda and Naveen Patnaik, respectively, and Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi shared the dais with Rajnath.

Senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu, yatra coordinator Vijay Goel and party general secretary in-charge of Orissa Vinay Katiyar also accompanied him.

A blistering sun and an apparent lack of enthusiasm among the BJP members saw a thin crowd, estimated to be below 10,000 by police .

Speaking at the meeting, Munda contended that the soft stand of the Congress-led UPA government has allowed the Maoists to spread their influence rapidly.

Modi said red terro had affected the entire Indian sub-continent. ?Extremists have formed a red corridor that extends up to Nepal.?

Rajnath said the Orissa government?s repeated pleas to the Centre for more paramilitary forces and aid seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

After travelling through Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Rajnath?s rath reached Talcher this evening where he addressed a public meeting. He will leave Orissa for Chhattisgarh on Saturday afternoon.