Kolkata, Sep 5 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice president Vinay Katiyar Sunday accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre and West Bengal's Left Front government of using the Maoist problem for political gains.

He demanded that Home Minister P. Chidambaram take action if he was aware of the existence of camps of armed Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists in parts of West Bengal.

'If the home minister is aware of the armed CPM camps then he should immediately act on this. The CPIM-led Left Front is using the Maoist problem in their own way and the UPA in their own way and the people of Bengal are the only sufferers,' Katiyar, in the city to attend the concluding session of the three-day training programme of the BJP, told media persons here.

At a press conference in Delhi Sep 1, Chidambaram said that the central government had information about the existence of several armed camps in West Midnapore district and cadres from these camps were moving around with weapons. He hoped the state government would take steps to rein them in.

The BJP leader said there was little to distinguish among the Congress, the Left and the Trinamool Congress.

He said while the Congress had run the first UPA government from 2004-2009 with support from the leftists, now the Congress and the Trinamool Congress have joined hands to form the government.

Katiyar also came down heavily on the state government for announcing 10 percent reservation in government jobs for Muslims.

'If you reserve 10 percent seats for Muslims, what is left? There is already a considerable percentage of reservation in various categories,' he said.