Congress leader Keshava Rao urges Centre to hold peace talks with Maoists
The former MP strongly resented the anti-Maoist operation launched by the Union Home Ministry.
He said that while violence has no place in democracy, the state must handle Maoist violence tactfully. He admitted that police and armed forces cannot remain silent to violence by the extremists.
Keshava Rao appealed to the Union Government to respond favourably to the offer of extremist groups to open a dialogue for peace. He said such talks precede the extremists giving up their weapons and violence as an ideology. 'A meaningful dialogue is the best way to stop violence,' he added.
The senior leader reminded the Centre of the fruitful experience of Andhra Pradesh holding such talks in 2005, which resulted in a drastic decline in Maoist violence. 'It is today restricted to a few areas bordering Chhattisgarh in Telangana. The violence must stop and must be stopped,' he added.
Meanwhile, responding to a query at a press conference, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said his government and the Congress party are against violence. 'We are against all forms of violence, whether it is by the state, the common man or groups. There should be no violence,' he said.
CM Revanth Reddy said that the Congress party believes that any issue, however big it may be, can be addressed through talks.
He reiterated that the government would make a decision after consultation with the party's central leadership. He was asked about the request by the Peace Dialogue Committee to take the initiative to convince the Centre to stop the operation and hold talks with the Maoists.
The Peace Dialogue Committee, headed by retired high court judge Justice Chandra Kumar, met the Chief Minister on April 27 and requested him to take the initiative to ensure that the Centre holds peace talks with the Maoists.
The Committee members urged the Chief Minister to persuade the Centre to agree to a ceasefire.
CM Reddy told them that he would consult former home minister and senior leader K. Jana Reddy, who has experience in conducting talks with Maoists.
The Chief Minister told the Peace Committee leaders that his government views Naxalism purely from a social perspective, not as a law and order issue.
The next day (April 28), he discussed the issue with Jana Reddy and Keshava Rao and later told media persons that a decision would be taken after consultation with the party's central leadership.
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