Kolkata: With the Centre deciding on
having unified command structures in four states to fight
Maoists, top Naxal leader Kishenji today said they are ready
to answer the government's move and vowed to take revenge over the killing of Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad.
"We appeal to the Indian Army and Air Force not to use
military power against the people of the country. We are also
ready to answer the government's use of firepower against us,"
Kishenji told PTI from an undisclosed location.
He claimed that the deployment of joint forces to
combat Maoists was a blunder and has been unsuccessful.
Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal will
have a unified command structure headed by their chief
secretaries for better coordination among police, paramilitary
and intelligence agencies.
Asked about talks with the government, he said, "The
government doesn't want talks. It is very clear from the cold
blooded murder of Azad."
Noting that Azad had been negotiating with the
government and preparing the ground work for talks, he said,
"By killing him on July one in Adilabad district in Andhra
Pradesh all roads to dialogue had closed."
Vowing revenge, Kishenji said, "His sacrifice will not
go in vain."
He also claimed that the people had a right to
minerals and natural resources of the country. "We will not
let anyone to grab this. The people under the leadership of
CPI-Maoists will fight this injustice."
He denied media reports that he was injured and Dwijen
Hembram was asked by the Maoist leadership to take charge of
West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.
"Anybody has the liberty to write anything. There is
no change in leadership. I am fully fit and capable. This is a
ploy by the police and a section of the media which has sold."
Meanwhile, intellectuals here signed a statement
urging the government and the Maoists to negotiate.
-PTI
First Published: Friday, July 16, 2010, 21:29