The Hindu : Naxal issue: parties continue to trade charges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 22, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Naxal issue: parties continue to trade charges

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MARCH 21. The trading of charges between political parties on the naxalites issue continued unabated with the Telugu Desam Party accusing the Congress and its alliance partner, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, of entering into a "conspiracy" with ultras to terrorise and force Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionaries to their leave villages in a bid to rig the elections.Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, the Minister for Information, S. Chandramohan Reddy, described as "meaningless", the charge levelled by the former Congress Legislature Party leader, Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy, that the violence could be a "mischief" engineered by the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, himself to gain sympathy and political mileage.

He said that since the attempt on Mr. Naidu's life at Alipiri, extremists had eliminated 32 TDP and four BJP functionaries. "The Congress-TRS nexus with the naxalites is an open secret." Naxalites had been targeting TDP and BJP leaders, asking them to resign and leave their villages, while making it clear that those functionaries could join any other party. "What more evidence do you want," he asked.

Mr. Reddy also criticised Congress leaders for failing to condemn the naxalite attacks on TDP-BJP cadres and for merely making a "ritualistic condemnation" of the killing of the husband of the Tribal Welfare Minister, M. Mani Kumari.

Refuting the allegation of Dr. Reddy that the "bullet-for-bullet" policy of the Chief Minister had provoked violence, he said that as many as 3,617 extremists had surrendered since 1996 and the Government had rehabilitated 1,855 of them, spending Rs.16.31 crores.

Meanwhile, the TDP has brought out a four-page leaflet stating that unity was our strength and separation was tantamount to betrayal of Telugu people. Appealing to the electorate to cast their vote in favour of the ruling party for continuing the development, it traced the history of the formation of Andhra Pradesh on linguistic basis.

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