Ready to talk on any issue if naxals halt violence:Chidambaram

Kolkata, Feb 9 (PTI) After a meeting of four
naxal-affected states, the Centre on Tuesday said it was ready
to hold talks with the Maoists if they "halt" violence.

"My appeal to all the naxals on behalf of all the
chief ministers who participated in the conference two days
ago, on behalf of naxal affected states, if you abjure
violence that is if you say a halt to violence, we are not
asking you to do anything more, if you halt the violence we
are prepared to talk to you on any matter," Home Minister of
India P Chidambaram said.
He was talking to reporters after a meeting of chief
minister of Naxal-affected states which was not attended by
chief ministers of Bihar and Jharkhand Nitish Kumar and Shibu
Soren respectively.
Kumar told reporters in Patna that he could not be
away from Patna for long and on Tuesday is the scheduled day
for the state cabinet to meet. Soren, who had cited illness
for not attending the meeting, had deputed his two deputy
chief ministers.
Against the backdrop of reports that Kumar kept away
at the instance of Railway Minister of India Mamata Banerjee,
Chidambaram sought to playdown his absence.
He said Kumar had told him in Delhi on Sunday that he
had some prior commitment and that he may not be able to
attend the Kolkata meeting. "His senior officials are here.
Either I can go to Patna or he can go to Delhi (to discuss
Maoist issues). That is not an issue," Chidambaram said.
On the naxal issue, the Home Minister said the
"condition" is Maoist should "halt" violence.

"Unfortunately, past appeals have been spurned.
Therefore, we are obliged to continue the operations as long
as naxals indulge in violence. These operations will continue
and I am confident that further progress will be made in next
six months," Chidambaram said.
"We made it very clear that the purpose of these
operations is not to kill anyone. They are our own people. We
care for them, we care for their lives," he said.
The meeting, convened by the Union Home Minister, to
help states to coordinate their campaign against Naxals, began
an hour behind schedule as Orissa Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik arrived late. The meeting was attended by West Bengal
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
"Use of force alone will not solve the problem. We all
agree on that. But in order to put an end to violence and
re-establish civil administration, it is necessary to use
force," he said when asked about the Bihar Chief Minister's
contention that the Maoist problem could not be solved by use
of force.
"The government must continue operations against
Maoists in a careful, calibrated and controlled way if Maoists
do not halt violence," he said.
Soren sent his two deputy chief ministers Raghubar Das
and Sudesh Mahto, while Bihar government was represented by
its Home Secretary Amir Subhani and DGP Anand Shankar.
The meeting reviewed at length the strategy adopted to
deal with Maoists and coordination among neighbouring states
as the Naxals often fled from one state to another after
indulging in violence.
"As long as the violence continues, the operation too
will continue. I hope I will get back to you with some
positive results in six months," Chidamabaram told the four
Maoist-hit states.
He, however, said, "The purpose of the operation is
not to kill anyone, but to re-establish civil administration
and reclaim areas dominated by Maoists.
"We are making progress, which is slow but steady and
we will continue to make progress. It is not just like a
cricket scoreboard where you will get results every over," he
said.
The progress of both intra and inter-state operations
against Maoists was reviewed at the meeting "and it was found
that states have made significant progress in intra-state
operations," he said.
Three key naxalite leaders, including a politburo
member and two zonal leaders, he said had been apprehended
during anti-Maoist operations in south Bihar, UP and Orissa.
The discussions focussed on the offensives to be
launched at the inter-state junctions of West Bengal-Jharkhand
and Bihar-Jharkhand as these areas were considered hotbed of
Left wing extremists, official sources said.
Developmental issues were also discussed at the
meeting attended by CRPF chief Vikram Srivastav, Additional
Secretary (Home) DRS Chowdhury, Additional Director (IB) P
Mahendra, Joint Secretary (Home) Kashmir Singh and Security
Advisor Brig D S Dadwal. PTI AKB
AHM