Now, war of words

By K. Srinivas Reddy

HYDERABAD, MAY 26. The Andhra Pradesh Government and the People's War Group (PWG) are now engaged in a propaganda war. If the State police are going all-out to discourage youth from joining the ultra-left movement by producing teleserials, the PWG, the most militant of the naxalite groups has garnered international support for its ``protracted armed struggle in its strongholds in the country.''

While the anti-extremist wing of the State police is now busy producing a four-episode teleserial titled Cheekati Velugulu, the PWG thinktank has gone a step ahead and got trans-continental exposure - during an International Communist Seminar held in the first week of May in Brussels.

The seminar, attended by over 10 Marxist-Leninist Maoist (MLM) parties from Belgium, Brazil, Chad, Mexico, Nepal, Philippines, Senegal and the United States, passed a resolution to ``endorse and support the people's wars led by the working class'' in India, Columbia, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Turkey and other countries.

It is obvious that the PWG, which recently formed the People's Guerrilla Army (PGA), has been trying to attract international attention. Several websites propagating the MLM thought have been featuring the agenda of the PWG in India, particularly on the revolutionary movement in Andhra Pradesh and its surrounding States.

On the other hand, the State police which had been lagging behind on the propaganda front, have decided to produce a short movie which is to be aired on a popular TV channel. The decision makers in the police department believe that in addition to the ``military assault'' being launched on the PGA, an outlet should be thrown open for the underground cadre to surrender themselves.

The surrender and rehabilitation policy, indeed, has received good support from the Government, but the bureaucratic wrangles in sanction of the reward amounts to be handed over to the surrendered cadre and in getting the rehabilitation package approved, have had a disastrous impact. Most of the extremist cadre who surrendered recently can now be seen pleading with police officers to get their reward amounts released.

``I have been asked to approach the MLAs or any other politician from the ruling party to get the Rs. 2 lakh reward amount promised to me,'' an exasperated top naxalite who surrendered recently remarked. The DGP, Mr. H.J. Dora, however, says that there could be a delay in handing over the reward amount due to allotted funds getting exhausted. ``The Government releases money periodically and we pay them immediately,'' he says.

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