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Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad
The Andhra Pradesh government has expressed willingness to hold talks with the outlawed People's War Group or any other Naxalite group if they come forward.
State Home Minister T Devender Goud said on Tuesday night that the government was always ready for talks. To a query whether the government was willing to accept some preconditions laid by the PWG for such talks, he said the issue will be discussed by the state cabinet soon.
The underground leadership of the PWG had recently said that it was ready for talks with the government. However, the PWG had laid several preconditions for the talks, including the withdrawal of the ban on the PWG and its recognition as a political party and action against police officials involved in fake encounters.
"We are moving in that direction to hold talks with the Naxalites," Devender Goud said and pointed out that the government was trying to create a conducive atmosphere in the state by dealing with the basic problem of lack of development, unemployment and poverty in the extremist-affected areas.
Reminded that the PWG was also raising the same issues and problems, he quipped "if it is so, nothing like it."
He recalled that for the last two years, he has been making efforts to see that the left-wing extremist problem was not dealt with only as a police (law and order) problem but as a socio-economic issue, requiring urgent attention.
"At the moment we are not bringing them (PWG) into the picture", Devender Goud said and explained that the government's attention was focussed on how to improve the functioning of various implementation agencies and departments.
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