The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Vijayawada News : Occupation of land by naxals flayed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 28, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

Occupation of land by naxals flayed

By Our Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA, OCT. 27. A member of the State Government's Ceasefire Monitoring Committee and Editor of Krishna Patrika, P. Venkateswarlu, expressed strong opposition against the hoisting of party flags on private and forest lands by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) cadre, which, according to him, is not conducive to the ongoing peace talks.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Venkateswarlu felt that at a time when the State Government was making "sincere efforts" to address the issues raised by the naxalites, it was not proper on the part of the latter in resorting to forcible occupation of the lands and hoisting party flags on it.

Appeal to naxals

He regretted that the civil liberties leaders like Varavara Rao defended the actions of the naxalites on the ground that there was no violence involved in such land occupation. Mr. Venkateswarlu said that while the Marxist-Leninist philosophy emphasised on the rule of the proletariat, the naxals were now raising the bogey of "rule of ryots."

"There are certain laws in the country and everybody has to follow it. Otherwise, there is no point in having a rule of law in the country," he averred and appealed to the naxalites to desist from such actions, lest it hamper the peace initiatives.

Cautioning that "violence begets violence," Mr. Venkateswarlu reminded the naxalites of Indian democracy offering much more freedom of expression and redressal of grievances than those of even the Communist-ruled countries like Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Compliments YSR

Replying to questions, Mr. Venkateswarlu felt that the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Government appeared to be sincere in finding a solution to the vexatious issue that had been haunting the State for the past four decades.

He regretted that the naxalites were displaying impatience by resorting to forcible occupation of land. Since the Government machinery normally moved at a leisurely pace, it would take time for the issues raised by the naxalites to be resolved to the satisfaction of both sides, he said.He appealed to the naxalites and the police to observe restraint so that the talks could end on a fruitful note.

Significantly, Mr. Venkateswarlu who is known for his leanings towards the RSS, disagreed with the view of the BJP president, L.K.Advani, that the State Government's decision to hold talks with the outlaws impinged on the national security.

Mr.Advani had expressed the view that any policy on naxals should be taken at the national level as the problems posed by the organisation had inter-State ramifications.

On the contrary, Mr. Venkateswarlu felt that during the six-year stint as the country's Home Minister, Mr. Advani could not do much in bringing the naxalites to the negotiating table.

The NDA Government and the previous Governments in the State, including the TDP, chose to tackle the issue as a law and order problem on account of which the issues raised remained unresolved, Mr. Venkateswarlu said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh

News Update

Stories in this Section

Occupation of land by naxals flayed

Kidnap episode: schools allay parents' fears

LIC agent assaulted?

Revolving fund for women entrepreneurs announced

Fashion designers' novel concept

Around the City

In Vijayawada Today