Ball in PWG's court on arms issue

Following the state government's insistence that the People's War Group (PWG) should not move with arms in public places during the peace talks, the onus is now on PWG on not stalling the peace process.

Taking a clear departure from the stance taken by the Naidu regime which maintained that no talks would be held with PWG unless it relinquishes arms, the new government wants them not to carry arms when they enter villages and towns.

The PWG questioned the conditionality by trying to equate the government's insistence to that of the Naidu's regime.

However, home minister K Jana Reddy stuck to his guns and wrote a letter to PWG state committee secretary a couple of days ago, saying that there would be no bargaining on the issue.

As the government has already done its part in facilitating the talks, any delay or deadlock in the talks caused by the PWG's insistence on carrying arms would only put the latter at the receiving end.

That the PWG side is under pressure over the issue is clearly visible with one of its representatives in the mediating team, Gaddar, openly appealing to the naxalite leaders not to carry arms while attending the peace talks.

In his recent letter, the home minister fully dealt with the PWG's objection to the seventh point in the draft charter which barred PWG from moving with weapons in public places. He argued that any move by PWG to carry arms during the peace talks could create legal problems.

"Besides, other elements including those hostile to PWG also may try to move with weapons. The forces hostile to peace initiative could also try to derail the talks process by showing the naxal movement in villages," he thus justified the government's position and called upon the naxalites to agree to the seventh condition in the draft peace charter.

Some recent incidents like encounters, mainly on account of the over-enthusiastic police men, did appear to justify the "somewhat rigid attitude of the naxalites" on the issue of moving with weapons.

However, the bold decisions by the government like non-renewal of ban on the hitherto outlawed left-wing extremist organisation gave it a clear strategic upper-hand in the ongoing peace initiative.

In fact, the state government agreed to almost all the demands of PWG including those for enquiry into the covert killings allegedly engineered by the police through their moles.

Against this back-drop, any delay in commencing the peace talks or any inflexibility by PWG on the weapons issue would only alienate the naxalites from the people who are anxiously awaiting a positive outcome.

Reports are already coming in about the increasing movement of PWG armed squads in the rural areas besides the stepped-up money collections by the members of this outfit.

According to a senior government official, the contractors and the truck operators in the Sinagareni Collieries "" whose mines are located in the four naxal-infested districts of Telangana "" are already being made to pay 'party fund' in a big way.

In a recent meeting of district superintendents of police, convened for conveying the government's attitude on finding peaceful solution to naxal-related violence, Jana Reddy advised the officers not to differentiate PWG from other parties in matters such as political campaigning and collection of party funds.

But if PWG insists on carrying weapons, this new-found liberalism in the government will become a target for criticism as the alleged extortion drive by the armed naxalites is a major cause of concern to the police and the businessmen in these areas.