Arya Samaj leader to pursue Maoist dialogue efforts

NEW DELHI - Arya Samaj leader and social activist Swami Agnivesh, who led a three-day march from Raipur to the Maoist-infested Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh recently, Thursday said he would organise a round-table conference here next month to discuss the possibilities of a dialogue with the rebels.

“Despite temporary setbacks, we are determined to pursue efforts for a dialogue. We will try to stop the killings of ordinary people, whether they are security personnel or rebels or villagers,” Agnivesh told IANS.

Besides Agnivesh, several peace activists including noted jurist Rajinder Sachar, P.V. Rajagopal, chief of NGO Ekta Parishat, and journalist Kuldip Nayar will attend the meet to be held July 9.

Maoist ideologues like Varavara Rao and G.N. Saibaba will present the side of the rebels.

Dantewada inquiry commission chief E.N. Rammohan and other security experts will be invited as observers, Agnivesh said.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Home Secretary G.K. Pillai were also invited to the round table conference but they declined the invitation, Agnivesh said.

Agnivesh had launched the march May 6, exactly one month after a Maoist attack in Dantewada district in Chattisgarh. Seventy-five security personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a state police constable were killed in the worst-ever Maoist attack.

Soon after his three-day march, Agnivesh had received a letter from Chidambaram, “congratulating and thanking” him for his efforts for the peace process.

Responding to Agnivesh’s suggestion for a 72-hour ceasefire, Chidambaram said that Maoists should abjure violence as a pre-condition for ceasefire and talks. The status quo should be maintained till the talks are concluded, Chidambaram had said. However, the Maoists rejected the offer.

“I still feel we should work to evolve options for a dialogue. Several political leaders and social activists in the country too share the same opinion,” Agnivesh said.