Cease fire and talk to us: Mamata's offer to Maoists -Governance Now

Cease fire and talk to us: Mamata's offer to Maoists

Forwards Swami Agnivesh and Medha Patkar's name as interlocutors

PTI | August 9, 2010

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today urged Maoists to stop violence and hold talks with the government.

"Let the peace process start from today. Let Bengal show the way for entire India. Let violence and killings stop. If you have a problem with me, social activists Medha Patkar and Swami Agnivesh can take the lead. But let the negotiations start," Banerjee told a rally organised by her under the 'Santras Birodhi Manch' (anti-terror platform) here.

"I can promise that I will do whatever necessary for the development of Junglemahal where there is no road, electricity or schools or colleges. If necessary I can consider setting up a railway factory here," she said.

Related reports:

Congress extends moral support to Mamata's Lalgarh rally

Congress today asserted that it had extended "moral support" to the rally organised by Trinamool Congress in Maoist-affected Lalgarh in West Bengal saying it was intended to restore peace in the area.

"Congress has extended moral support to the rally.

Intellectuals, writers, artists and others are working for restoration of peace in the area," party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told reporters here.

He said the West Bengal PCC had received an invitation for the rally but as the Congress had organised a different function today, it did not attend the meeting at Lalgarh.

Asked about the involvement of Maoists in the rally, Ahmed said he was not aware of that but insisted that the Congress believed in a "holistic approach" to deal with the Naxalites.

"There should be a holistic approach to deal with the Maoists. This is also the approach of the government. If there are genuine grievances, those should be removed, if there are perceived grievances, the perception should be removed, if development is needed, it should be carried out but if some people believe in the cult of the gun, they should be firmly dealt with," Ahmed added.

Earlier, the rally had its echo in Parliament with Left members seeking to know the Centre's stand on the alleged hobnobbing of the Trinamool with the Maoists.

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