Ready to answer Govt's unified command plan: Kishenji

Top Naxal leader Kishenji today said they are ready to tackle the government's decision to use unified command structures in four states to fight Maoists, and vowed to take revenge of Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad's death.

Top Naxal leader Kishenji on Friday said they are ready to tackle the government's decision to use unified command structures in four states to fight Maoists, and vowed to take revenge of Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad's death.

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"We appeal to the Indian Army and Air Force not to use military power against the people of the country. We are also ready to answer the government's use of firepower against us," Kishenji told PTI from an undisclosed location.

He claimed that the deployment of joint forces to combat Maoists was a blunder and has been unsuccessful.

Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal will have a unified command structure headed by their chief secretaries for better coordination among police, paramilitary and intelligence agencies.

Asked about talks with the government, he said, "The government doesn't want talks. It is very clear from the cold blooded murder of Azad."

Noting that Azad had been negotiating with the government and preparing the ground work for talks, he said, "By killing him on July 1 in Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh all roads to dialogue had closed."

He denied media reports that he was injured and Dwijen Hembram was asked by the Maoist leadership to take charge of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

"Anybody has the liberty to write anything. There is no change in leadership. I am fully fit and capable. This is a ploy by the police and a section of the media which has sold."

Meanwhile, intellectuals in Kolkata signed a statement urging the government and the Maoists to negotiate.