Centre Rejecting Peace Talks, Killing Maoists: Haragopal

Social activist Professor G Haragopal today alleged that the Union government was intent on killing Maoists who were ready to hold peace talks.

The Professor delivered the inaugural address at a conference held at Sundarayya Vigyan Kendram, organised under the auspices of the former Revolutionary Students Forum. The conference was convened to commemorate those who died in the recent encounter in the Gundekot forest area.

Haragopal, Vivekam Editor N Venugopal, Professor Ghanta Chakrapani, Bharat Bachao leader Dr M F Gopinath, Virasam leader Pani, former Revolutionary Students' Forum leader N Ravi, CLC leader Laxman, Atram Bhujanga Rao and Buram Abhinav participated in the program, and paid tribute to the Maoist party Central Committee Secretary Namballa Kesava Rao, who died in the Gundekot encounter.

The speakers who participated in the conference said that everyone needed to condemn the approach of the Union government, which indicated that it intended to eliminate those who questioned its actions.

Haragopal said that history was changing rapidly, and that democracy was in danger in the country.

Pani said that with the policies being followed by the rulers for some time now, the country was falling into a strange crisis. While the people, civil society groups and human rights organisations were demanding peace talks, the Union government believed in oppression, he said.

"The revolutionary party has announced its readiness for talks and its intent to observe a ceasefire, but the Union government insists that problems will be solved with guns," Pani said.

He also said that the problem was not just about the Maoists but about the tribals as well.

Chakrapani said that the violence being carried out in the name of Operation Kagar should not continue, and that the society must oppose it.

Venugopal lamented that the Centre's declaration - that its goal was to eradicate the Maoists, who he claimed were fighting on behalf of the oppressed - violated the spirit of the Constitution.

Ravi appealed to the Union government to recognise how evil it was not only to refuse to hand over the bodies of those killed in the fake encounter to their families, but also to impose restrictions on the performance of funeral rites.