The Hindu : Naxal killings: TDP plea to EC

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 20, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Naxal killings: TDP plea to EC

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MARCH 19. In a rather unusual request, the ruling Telugu Desam Party today urged the Election Commission to "prevent the Congress and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) from indulging in anti-democratic acts of supporting extremists".

The TDP made this plea through a memorandum submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer, M. Narayana Rao, against the backdrop of a spate of attacks on its party workers by naxalites, the latest being the killing of M. Venkat Raju, husband of the Tribal Welfare Minister, M. Manikumari, on Thursday. The party spokespersons, Ummareddy Venkateswarlu, C. Ramachandraiah, the general secretary, M. A. Shariff, and the convener of the legal cell, Ravindra Kumar, handed over the memorandum.

The TDP alleged that Congress leaders in several constituencies, posing themselves as naxalites, were writing letters and making telephone calls to TDP and BJP leaders, asking them to resign from their posts and warning them not to campaign. This came on top of the threats being held out openly by naxalites.

Under these circumstances, it was becoming increasingly difficult for TDP leaders to move about freely, meet people and campaign for their candidates. During the last 20 days, important party leaders were shot dead in broad daylight. On Thursday, a TDP mandal unit secretary and gunman of a party leader from Medak besides the Minister's were shot dead.

Such acts of violence were clearly aimed at derailing the democratic process and subverting the right of citizens to vote freely. The TDP leaders feared that the violence would escalate as the elections drew closer. They said naxalites had killed 2,693 people and committed 16,554 offences since 1968. Thirty-three political leaders had been killed since the attack on the Chief Minister at Alipiri on October 1.

Far from condemning these acts, the Congress and TRS were advocating that the naxalites should be invited for talks. The Congress had even gone to the extent of promising to lift the ban on the PW while the TRS had claimed that the naxals's agenda would be its agenda. Naxalites had also declared that they would be happy if the Congress came to power.

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Andhra Pradesh