Cong to announce stand on Operation Kagar soon
Hyderabad: The Congress is likely to adopt previous 'YSR government strategy' to address the Naxal menace in the state through talks. A policy to hold peace talks on the lines of the Congress government headed by Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh is also contemplated.
During a meeting on Monday, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy sought more details about the peace talks with Maoists in the YSR government from the then Home minister K Jana Reddy.
Jana Reddy explained how the Congress government had initiated talks with the Naxals in 2004 and how he had addressed the extremist menace without violence in the united Andhra Pradesh.
The Chief Minister said the Congress will also take a policy decision on tackling the Naxal issue first and then the state government will take a call. Following an appeal from the Peace Committee to prevail upon and stop the Operation Kagar launched by the Union government to wipe out the Naxals in the country, the CM took the initiative of preparing the Congress party's policy as well as the government's stand on the Naxal activities. Jana Reddy told the CM that the peace talks with the Naxals during the YSR government drew the national attention and also succeeded in inviting the Naxals to mainstream life as many youth quit the Maoist party. Speaking to newsmen, the Chief Minister asserted that a nationwide debate on the 'Operation Kagar' and also the constitution of a Peace Committee at the state level to hold talks with the Maoists.
The mass killing of Maoists by the Central forces at Telangana- Chhattisgarh border drew strong criticism from all sections, the CM said, adding that the government considered the request of the Peace Committee to end the indiscriminate attacks on Maoist camps even after the extremist groups appeal for peace talks with the state and Union governments recently. Leaders said that the CM will present a report to the Congress high command on the suggestions being made by Jana Reddy and another leader K Kesava Rao on holding the peace talks with the Naxals soon.
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