Maoists agree to conditional talks

Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren on Saturday hinted that his government may relax the 15-day deadline for talks with Maoists and appealed to the extremist organisation to come overground.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren on Saturday hinted that his government may relax the 15-day deadline for talks with Maoists and appealed to the extremist organisation to come overground.

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“We want every section of people to reap the benefits of democracy. Violence cannot bring peace and prosperity,” he said.

This comes a day after CPI (Maoist) spokesperson Gopalji welcomed Soren’s offer to hold talks with the extremist groups. He had, however, rejected any deadlines for the talks.

Gopalji also set several pre-conditions for talks. They were:

Withdrawal of paramilitary forces

Halting of the offensive against the Maoists
Unconditional release of all central committee and special area committee members from jails

Withdrawal of false cases against party sympathizers

Lifting of the ban on CPI (Maoist)

Punishing police and intelligence officers involved in fake encounters

Letting people affected by investment proposals review the relevant MoUs and ensuring the rights of local people over water, forest and lands.

Jharkhand Home Secretary JB Tubid told Hindustan Times that the government is ready for a dialogue with the Maoists.

“They should submit their pre-conditions in black and white. But it is a policy matter that has to be decided by the political parties in the coalition government,” he added.