Bengal govt ready for talks with naxalites

The West Bengal government on Thursday said that it was not averse to holding talks with the Naxalite outfits like the People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) if these extremist groups approached it. The government will however, continue to fight the ultras and special battalions are being raised for the purpose.

"We are not averse to holding talks with the PW and the MCC, but we do not know whom to talk to. Neither of these ultra outfits have approached the government for talks," Bengal Director-General of Police Shyamal Dutta said here.

Asked whether the state government had decided to adopt a soft line towards these outfits after failing to contain them, the DGP said, "I do not think that the government is unable to tackle them, but there is no harm in holding talks with them."

On the dialogue initiated by the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh with the PW, Dutta, who had attended the conference of Chief Ministers of nine Naxalite-affected states in Hyderabad, said the state government was keeping a close watch on the talks in that state.

The DGP said that one India Reserve Battalion was being raised to combat the ultras, while a proposal had been submitted to the government for the raising of a second battalion. "The first battalion is in the last phase of training after which it will be deployed," he said.

Earlier, Home Secretary Amit Kiran Deb said that the government was willing to open a dialogue with Naxalite outfits, but the process had remained a non-starter in the absence of any pronounced leadership in the two groups in the state.

The DGP said that though the Centre had sanctioned the raising of two India Reserve Battalions, the fund allocated for the purpose was inadequate.

He said that Rs 13 crore was sanctioned for the raising of each battalion, but it was not sufficient for training and construction of barracks.

"We sought more funds as initial grant. It will also be convenient for the state government if their salary was paid by the Centre for the first five years."

Dutta said West Bengal, which got only one battalion of Central forces to combat the Naxalites, needed more such force considering the vast areas in Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore districts.

The state government, he said, had approached the Centre for more Central forces for the purpose and added that all these points had been highlighted at the Chief Ministers' conference.