Kolkata:
Despite her tough talk against the Maoists, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today gave the go-ahead to a group of interlocutors appointed by her for talks with the ultras.
"The government wants to take forward the peace talks and we have been assigned today for the job," human rights activist Sujato Bhadra, who heads the interlocutors' team, told reporters after over an-hour-and-a-half meeting with the chief minister at the state secretariat.
He said there was discussion with Mamata regarding some recent incidents in Jangalmahal. "Such issues will be brought to the notice of the major stake holders (the Maoists) in Jangalmahal," he said without elaborating.
The group of interlocutors had held some rounds of talks (presumably with the lower rung of the leadership).
Sources said that during the meeting with the interlocutors, the chief minister expressed her displeasure over the escalation in violence after a lull since the Assembly elections in May.
She warned that the killings cannot go on when her government has tried to broker peace and usher in development initiatives in the region during the past four months since she took over as chief minister.
Following the recent killing of three of her party workers and a Jharkhand leader, Banerjee had on Septermber 26 told a meeting at Singur that the Maoists would have to choose between talks and killing, and that "the two can't go together".
Emphasising her government's desire to hold dialogue with them, she said she had no objection if they seek more time for talks, but if they kill innocent persons and then express a desire for talks, she would not agree.
State Governor M K Narayanan recently said the Maoists had not responded to the Mamata's offer for talks.
On Monday, Banerjee had called the Maoists ''cowards''.