PC invites Maoists for talks, offers ceasefire

Confusion prevails in the Union home ministry on how to deal with the terror unleashed by Maoists. Intelligence outfits operating in Maoist-dominated areas appear clueless about the insurgents’ movements while they continue to strike with impunity.

The home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, and some senior Congress leaders have different views on what the government should do. While Mr Chidambaram said on Monday that he was trying to “convince” the Union Cabinet to authorise the use of the Air Force in anti-Naxal operations, the senior Congress leader, Mr Digvijay Singh articulated the opposite viewpoint: that the armed forces should not be brought in. The Army and the Air Force are not in favour of getting involved. The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is expected to review the strategy against Maoists at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Mr Chidambaram, a day after referring to the possible use of air power in a television interview, on Tuesday reiterated the government’s offer of talks if the Maoists “suspend” violence while speaking on another TV channel. “The Maoists should say — ‘We’ll abjure violence’. Then we (the government) will actually suspend violence for 72 hours.”

The home minister added: “We’ll get the Chief Ministers on board. We will respond. We’ll fix a date, time and place for talks, and let the Maoists ... talk on anything they wish.”

“All CMs have an unlimited mandate to tackle Maoist violence. The Centre can only assist,” he said.