Soren Rejects Offer of Maoists, Urge to Lay down Arms

In reaction to the Maoists’ offer, Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren has said that talks can be held only after rebels lay down their arms and that offensive initiated by the state against them will continue, reported NDTV.

It may be mentioned that Maoist rebels operating in Jharkhand and Bihar have offered to talk to Soren through media but have laid down such conditions which the Centre cannot accept.

“We won’t lay down our arms. We want the government to stop all operations. If the government agrees to these demands, we will go to the negotiating table,” Gopa, the spokesperson of the CPI (Maoist) Bihar and Jharkhand, was quoted as saying.

In their letter offering talks, conditions laid down include withdrawal of all the forces, release of all jailed Naxals and dropping of all cases against rebels, said report.

However, after going through the letter, it becomes clear that this offer of talks is a mere formality and that the conditions for talks are impossible for the government to meet, report said.