NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTION 99
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

AP offers more sops for Naxal rehabilitation

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to disburse assistance for the rehabilitation of surrendered Naxalites within 30 days of their surrender. The government has also announced that henceforth Naxalites can surrender before civilian authorities too.

Disclosing this at a media conference on Friday evening, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said "Naxalites, desirous of joining the mainstream and giving up their violent activities, are welcome to surrender" before civilian authorities such as district collectors, joint collectors, Integrated Tribal Development Agency project officers and deputy directors of social welfare in their respective districts.

The chief minister said that the state government would ensure that the surrendered Naxalites are rendered all assistance, including financial help, under the rehabilitation package within a time-frame of 30 days from their date of surrender.

Chandrababu Naidu said that the state cabinet would review the implementation of the rehabilitation scheme every month and remove bottlenecks, if any.

The chief minister said that civilian authorities are being authorised to accept Naxalite surrender offers as the extremists have been apprehensive of the police. "They need not have any apprehensions. We will take care of those who give up violence and join the mainstream," he said.

Appealing to the Naxalites, especially those belonging to the violent groups like the outlawed People's War Group as well as Janasakthi group, to eschew violence, Chandrababu Naidu warned them that his government was determined to put down extremist activities with an iron hand. "We will deal sternly with the law-breakers, whoever they may be, and maintain law and order at any cost," he said.

The chief minister strongly condemned the spate of violent incidents that occurred in various parts of the state following the killing of three top People's War Group leaders and central organising committee members -- Nalla Adi Reddy, Yerramreddy Santosh Reddy and Seelam Naresh -- in an encounter with the police in Karimnagar district on December 2.

He said that Naxalites resorted to as many as 41 violent incidents since December 2, apparently in retaliation to the killing of the PWG leaders.

Citing district-wise figures, he said that these incidents occurred mainly in the Naxalite-affected north Telangana districts. He said that Naxalites were targeting public properties such as government buildings, telephone exchanges, Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation buses and private properties like the residences of the ruling Telugu Desam Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party functionaries in the villages.

Chandrababu Naidu said that during the current year, Naxalites have killed as many as 144 people, besides 35 policemen. In as many as 196 encounters, 211 Naxalites have been killed by the police. He said that 343 Naxalites had surrendered before the authorities while 1,527 Naxalites had been arrested by the police.

The chief minister said that he was ready to talk to the Naxalite groups as well as have a public debate with the people, political parties, human rights groups and intellectuals on the extremist violence and the ways and means of tackling the situation. "I have been telling them I am ready to talk to them but they (Naxalites) have not come forward so far for a dialogue," he said.

Tell us what you think of this report