Visit Indian Travel Sites
Goa,
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Delhi,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh,
Assam,
Sikkim,
Madhya Pradesh,
Jammu & Kashmir
Karnataka
|
Chidambaram invites Naxalites for talk, after abjuring violence |
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has said
that the Government has made it clear that it does not view the confrontation
with the Naxalites as a war against the Naxalites. Delivering the fourth Nani
Palkhiwala memorial lecture here on Monday, Chidambaram said: "The Naxalite leaders
and cadres are Indian citizens. No government of a civilized country will wage
war against its own people. What we ask is that the Naxalites should abjure violence."
"If they represent the poor or the tribal people of a State, certainly the Government
of that State would be willing to talk to them on their demands and listen to
their genuine grievances. I hope that leaders of civil society would prevail upon
Naxalites to abjure violence and participate in democracy," he added. Noting that
in the last ten years, the Naxalite movement has grown both in its area of influence
and its capacity for violent actions, he said, "It is a sad fact that some sections
of civil society continue to romanticise the left wing extremist movement." In
an extraordinarily frank document issued by the politburo of the CPI (Maoist),
he said, "They regard elections as a meaningless, irrelevant, pseudo-democratic
exercise." "They have declared that their goal is seizure of political power and
establishment of base areas. Their method will be expanding our guerrilla war
to new areas on the one hand and intensifying the mass resistance in the existing
areas; to intensify the war in the States; and expand the area of struggle," he
added. Speaking on Kobad Ghandy, a member of the politburo, the Minister said:
"Ghandy has stated on record that the Naxalites will never participate in the
mainstream of politics." "How can a country that is democratic and republic accept
these pronouncements?" he said. Referring to Maoists in Nepal who participated
in Parliamentary elections, he said why Indian Maoists do not follow this example.
"There is no logical answer to this (why Naxals do not take part in democratic
elections) from Maoists, from human rights activists who support them, or the
left-leaning intellectuals," he added. Terming Naxalites as "anti-development",
he further said, "In 2009 alone, they have caused 183 violent attacks on economic
targets including railway tracks, telephone towers, power plants, mines, school
buildings and panchayat bhavans." Chidambaram later said, if the Naxalites accuse
the elected governments of capitalism, land grabbing, exploiting and displacing
the tribal people, and denying rights of forest-dwellers, what prevents them from
winning power through elections and reversing current policies and putting in
place policies that they think will benefit the people? |
|
|
|
|
|