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PWG losing control over cadre, admits killing Cong MLA was a mistake

The outlawed People's War Group leadership has made a tacit admission that it does not have complete control over the cadre when it acknowledged that it was a mistake on the part of the latter to eliminate tribal legislator from Devarakonda D Raghya Naik.

In a statement sent to reporters in Andhra Pradesh's Mahbubnagar district, PWG district committee secretary Santosh expressed regret for the killing the non-controversial Congress MLA.

The PWG leader apologised to the family members of the slain legislator for the 'irrevocable mistake' committed on December 29 when Raghya Naik was shot dead by a group of PWG cadres at a remote village in Mahbubnagar district where he had gone to attend a temple festival.

Terming the attack as a hasty step, the CPI-ML district committee exhorted the people, including those of the Banjara community, and opposition parties to treat the incident as an ill-conceived step on the part of the PWG.

The PWG leader also assured that precautions would be taken to ensure that such mistakes did not recur in the future.

Meanwhile, a state police spokesman, in a statement on Wednesday night, said, "On very predictable lines, the PWG has expressed sorrow at the murder of Congress MLA Raghya Naik by its own cadre."

This was not the first time that PWG had regretted the action of its own cadre, the spokesman pointed out.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had even stated in the assembly that, in the next few days, the PWG would regret the killing and apologise to the public.

"In this one aspect, the PWG seems to be consistent," the police added.

Earlier, PWG cadres had killed a police officer in the court hall at Salur. Later, the leadership regretted the incident.

In another incident, the PWG cadres had blasted a court building at Asifabad in Adilabad district in which a number of small-time political activists and lower-rung public representatives had been killed though the PWG always claimed that it would never touch the lower-rung leaders.

It is becoming apparent that PWG cadres are doing things in their own way.

Some time back, certain documents found by the police indicated that the PWG was keen to avoid killing people accused of being informants in public since it was creating resentment among the people.

However, 12 tribals were shot dead at Manala forests bordering Karimnagar after being dubbed as informers.

"It is becoming increasingly evident that the PWG leadership does not have total control over its cadres. Secondly, whenever they expect a public backlash for their action, the PWG leaders resort to apologies," the police spokesman said.

"A revolutionary party with a derailed ideology, illiterate cadres, increasing emphasis on militarisation with no political awareness, can be a social menace and generate contradictions, which will surely weaken the outfit. This is exactly what we are seeing on the field," the spokesman quipped.

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