Unconditional talks with naxals ruled out

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, OCT. 3. The Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Wednesday ruled out unconditional talks with various naxalite factions, saying that maintenance of law and order was his Government's main concern. However, he appealed to the naxalites to eschew violence and join the mainstream of the society.

Earlier. as many as 21 naxalites- 15 activists of the banned People's War Group (PWG) and six belonging to Janasakthi and Praja Prathigatana- surrendered before the Chief Minister.

In the presence of the media, Mr.Naidu interacted with the surrendered naxalites to find out the reasons for joining the movement in the past and quitting the unlawful activity now. The Home Minister, Mr.T.Devender Goud, and the Director-General of Police, Mr.H.J.Dora, were also present. Answering questions from mediapersons, Mr.Naidu asserted that terrorism had no place in a civilised society and that his Government would not compromise on the task of maintaining law and order to ensure uninterrupted developmental activity.

Asked about the possibility of a dialogue with the naxalite groups to resolve the vexatious problem, he said that the Government was not averse to talks. ``But whom shall we talk to?'' he asked. He said his brief interaction with the surrendered naxalites revealed that there was no motivation of ideology in joining the naxalite movement.

Spurred by some small incidents, they took to the extremist activity and resorted to crime. Terrorism and naxalism proved to be a major stumbling block in the process of development. ``They are killing elected representatives belonging to weaker sections. None can tolerate such mindless violence,'' he said.

The Chief Minister referred to the terrorist strikes in the US and in Jammu and Kashmir which created an alarming situation worldwide and posed a challenge to society. Economy was getting slowed down. He did not agree with the opinion that the naxalite problem was being viewed by the Government only from a law and order angle. The Government was not vindictive. A massive effort was on to tackle the socio-economic problems. But a miniscule 1 per cent of terrorists cannot hold 99 per cent of the population to ransom. Terrorism was no answer to socio-economic or religious problems.

The Chief Minister appealed to political parties and the media to appreciate that terrorism was not the problem of the Government alone. About the surrendered naxalites, he said the Government did not want to punish them and rehabilitation packages were in place. Ministers, Collectors and SPs were asked to monitor the rehabilitation packages in their own respective districts.

The surrendered naxalites included 38-year-old Katkuri Venkateswarlu, alias Ramesh alias Balanna, district committee member and sub-zonal committee member of the PWG, who carried a reward of Rs.3 lakhs on his head, and two women.

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