Reddy asks Maoists to join political mainstream

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y.S. Rajashekara Reddy who is scheduled to hold historic talks with Naxal groups tomorrow called upon them to form a political party and fight for their goals through the democratic process.

Reddy said that this was the best opportunity for the Naxal leaders to come into the mainstream of life.

He was speaking to newsmen in the national capital after consultations with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, on the steps to be taken during the talks.

The Andhra chief minister is considered to have taken an enormous risk in offering an olive branch to the Naxals, and agreed to an across the table negotiation after voluntarily declaring a ceasefire. However he seems to be fully aware of the risks involved.

"If this opportunity fizzles out, the Naxals should realise that it would take another 10 or 20 years for us to get this kind of opportunity and atmosphere."

In fact, he said he was willing to concede to one of the major demands of the Naxal groups regarding the distribution of surplus land to the landless. "We will identify and distribute whatever surplus land is available," he said.

The stress of YSR, as he is known more popularly, however was on creating an atmosphere of trust and reasonableness, before the talks kick off.

He referred to how even renowned "revolutionaries like Nelson Mandela had finally realised that peace and democracy are the only alternative in the present world".

He sought to impress upon them how his government had gone more than half way in creating an atmosphere for these talks, and hoped that the Naxals would also reciprocate this gesture. However, he did not want anyone to think that his government had done it out of helplessness or see it as a sign of its weakness.

He hailed the Naxals as "responsible citizens" and said he would do everything to see that the talks would be held in a "constructive manner" under the "framework of the Constitution".

De-mystified

Later he remarked that the effect of the underground leaders coming over-ground and participating in public meetings, had a dual effect. One, was that they themselves were now becoming aware of the changes which have come about in the society at large. Secondly, he said, as far as the people of the state were concerned, seeing these leaders about whom they had heard only legends and stories, in flesh and blood, had also de-mystified them.

Meanwhile, most of the underground leaders, who had carried huge rewards on their heads, have now reached Hyderabad, where they have been given maximum security.