Ready for talks with Maoists, Kashmir groups: PM (Second Lead)

NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday called Maoist guerrillas for peace talks and said his government was also ready for a dialogue with any group in Jammu and Kashmir that abjures violence.

Admitting that Maoist-affected areas in east and central India have seen poor development, Manmohan Singh, in his address to the nation on Independence Day, urged the guerrillas to shun violence and come for peace talks in a bid to jointly accelerate the social and economic progress of the region.

“I once again appeal to Naxalites (Maoists) to abjure violence, come for talks with the government and join hands with us to accelerate social and economic development,” he said.

Terming Maoist violence “a serious challenge to our internal security”, Manmohan Singh however made it clear that the government “will deal firmly with those who resort to violence”.

The prime minister said the tribal-dominated areas where Maoists hold sway “lag behind in development” and vowed to end the “neglect”.

“We want to end the neglect of these areas. I have asked the Planning Commission to formulate a comprehensive scheme towards this end.”

He called upon tribal people to join the mainstream of development and asked government officials in those areas to “not only be sincere but be alive to the special needs of our adivasi brothers and sisters”.

In a fresh bid to revive peace talks in Kashmir in the wake of fresh unrest in the Valley, the prime minister said: “In Jammu and Kashmir, we are ready to talk to every person or group which abjures violence.”

He maintained that “Kashmir is an integral part of India” and any talks would be held “within this framework”.

The Kashmir Valley has been on the boil since June this year and over 55 people, mostly young men, have been killed in the vicious cycle of protests and violence.

The prime minister regretted the death of young Kashmiri men. “Recently, some young men have lost their lives in violence in Jammu and Kashmir. We deeply regret this.”

He called for an end to the years of armed separatist campaign in the state because “such violence would not benefit anyone”.

He asked the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and also of the northeast “adopt democratic means to join hands with us for their and the country’s welfare”.

Manmohan Singh Sunday said his government had a special responsibility towards the northeast region and was ready to “take forward every process of talks which could lead to progress in resolution of problems”.