Kolkata: Top Maoist leader Kishenji Wednesday defended Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee for stating that the killing of the outfit's spokesman Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad was wrong and said talks could only be held after
the withdrawal of anti-Maoist operations.
"There is no doubt that Azad was treacherously
murdered. Mamata spoke the truth. So why the furore over the
issue in Parliament?" Kishenji said over phone from an
undisclosed location.
"The BJP and CPI(M) are shouting over Mamata's
statement and are not asking for a judicial inquiry into the
killing of Azad when he was negotiating the government's
proposal for talks," he said.
He demanded the resignations of Union Home Minister P
Chidambaram, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister K Rosaiah for Azad's death.
On talks with the government, he said, "after so much
treachery we can still discuss the central government's offer
of talks at our central and state committees if the Centre
stops violence and withdraws Operation Green Hunt."
Stating that the Trinamool Congress chief had not
demanded a judicial inquiry into Azad's death, who was killed
in an encounter with the police in Adilabad district in Andhra
Pradesh on July 2, he said, "She is part of the government and
cannot go against its policies."
On Banerjee's call to Maoist to eschew violence,
Kishenji said, "She has asked Maoists to renounce arms and
come for talks. She is asking us to do something which was
never on our agenda. She is asking us to lay down arms and not
asking the Central government to stop violence."
Asking social activists Medha Patkar and Swami
Agnivesh to take up a movement on the issue, he said "we have
been fighting for the cause of the people and we will continue
to do so."
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 16:17