Kolkata, Sep 29 (IANS) The West Bengal government is committed to its efforts for peace talks with the Maoists, a member of the team of interlocutors appointed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to mediate between the guerrillas and the government said Thursday.
‘The government wants to tread the path of peace and has asked us to continue the endeavour to bring the extremists to the discussion table. The government is committed towards the peace efforts,’ said human right activist Sujato Bhadra, who met Banerjee at the state secretariat along with other interlocutors.
Perturbed by the renewed Maoist violence in the Junglemahal (Maoist-affected forested areas in western part of the state), Banerjee had called the meeting to explore ways to hold fresh dialogues with the rebels.
Earlier, Banerjee issued a stern warning to the Maoists.
‘Who has given you the right to kill? If you want to sit for negotiations do so. But you cannot have both. You have to choose one,’ she said.
‘Our development programmes have unnerved them. That’s why they are killing people. They are cowards. If they have guts, they should come out in the open and fight. People will give them a befitting reply,’ she said addressing a rally in Singur in Hooghly district three days back.
Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao, who visited Junglemahal earlie, to take stock of the situation there, had said the government needed to create a conducive and congenial environment for the talks to take place. He demanded the withdrawal of central and state security forces from the area.
