Maoists Call Two-day Shutdown in Five States against Centre’s Decision

In protest against a number of central government decisions including those pertaining to PSUs, the Maoists have called for a two-day shutdown in five states starting from May 18, said media reports.

The shutdown call is given for Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, said reports.

“Maoists will observe bandh on May 18 and May 19 in the five states to protest against the Centre’s decision to sell ten per cent government’s stake in 10 profit-making Public Sector Undertakings,” top Maoist leader Kishenji was quoted as saying.

Emerging after three months of lull following reports of his being injured during operations by security forces in Hatiloth forest near Lalghar, he said that he had been ‘well all along’, reports said.

“I have been well and now I am speaking with you as before,” he was quoted as saying.

Kishenji said that the CPI (Maoist) was against handing over 15,000 acre land to steel maker POSCO in Orissa and favoured subsidy to the oil companies to keep the rate of petroleum products stable, said reports.

He also made a number of other demands such as scrapping the IPL cricket tournament and accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union ministers P Chidambaram, Praful Patel and Sharad Pawar of being involved in the ‘scam’ surrounding the popular 20-20 cricket event, reports said.

“The government should immediately take action against these accused along with others who are behind the scam involving telecom spectrum allocation,” Kishenji was quoted as saying.

He also said that the CPI (Maoist) politburo member were against dilution of government stake in state-owned banks ‘to favour entry of international banks like Morgan Stanley, Citibank and Deutsche Bank’, said reports.

(Based on internet reports)