Centre to SC: Maoists striking despite our sincere efforts

NEW DELHI: Drawing flak for its policy on Maoists, the Centre on Tuesday told the

Supreme Court that despite its sincere efforts to solve the problems confronting tribals, the

rebels are not shunning violence and carrying on attacks as they did on Monday in West

Bengal.

"The home minister (P Chidambaram) has made a public statement that government is ready

to talk to them (Maoists) provided they eschew violence. And the answer we have got on

Monday from West Bengal," Attorney General G E Vahanvati told a bench comprising

justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar.

Vahanvati made the statement after advocatePrashant Bhushan spoke about the alleged

human rights violation by state agencies in their fight against Naxals in Chhattisgarh.

In the backdrop of the killing of 24 paramilitary personnel at a camp at Silda in West

Midnapore district, Vahanvati said he was sharing the view of Solicitor GeneralGopal

Subramanium that nobody want to go (to fight Naxals) with a death band on forehead.

"We do not want to perpetuate a situation like a civil war," he said before a bench which was

hearing the petitions relating to the Chhattisgarh tribals, who had allegedly gone missing after

the filing of petition seeking CBI probe into killing of about 10 people during the anti-Naxal

operations.

The bench pacified him saying "we are not on anything like war but for solving the problem".

Subramanium said "the fight against Naxals are not based on any political line and both the

Centre and the Chhattisgarh government are equally concerned about the human rights".