Lalgarh, West Bengal:
Unfazed by criticism that she was wooing them, Trinamool Congress leader and Union Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday stormed the Maoists bastion and appealed to them to halt killings saying joint operations against them should be withdrawn once they come to negotiations. (
Read: CPM slams Mamata for Lalgarh rally with Maoists' friends)
Accompanied by a battery of activists considered to be sympathetic to Maoists, the Railway Minister also made some significant comments that included condemnation of the killing of a top Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad by the Andhra Pradesh police in an encounter last month.
"Let the peace process start from today. Let Bengal show the way for entire India. Let violence and killings stop. If you have problem with me, social activists Medha
Patkar and Swami Agnivesh can take the lead. But let the negotiations start," she told a rally organised by her under the 'Santras Birodhi Manch' (anti-terror platform) here.
The Congress, which was invited to the rally, kept away from it. AICC General Secretary Keshava Rao instead attended a party rally in East Midnapore district.
Mamata told the Maoists, "If you agree to stop the violence and killings, then negotiations can begin. Joint operations should be withdrawn simultaneously."
"Let the peace process start from today. I am telling my Maoists friends to ponder who will ultimately benefit from violence and terror.
"Tell us where and when you want to sit for talks. We want dialogue for peace and restoration of democracy and build a terror-free India," she said as gun-toting CRPF personnel kept a watch over the sea of heads.
Criticizing the killing of top Maoist leader Azad Andhra Pradesh's Adilabad district saying, "What has happened was not correct. He was trying to begin the process of negotiations. We pray for his soul." (
Read: The way Maoist leader Azad was killed not right, says Mamata)
With activists Swami Agnivesh and Medha Patkar beside her on the stage, she said "We will also go to Chhattisgarh and Dantewada with a mission for peace."
Banerjee said she would consider setting up a railway factory in the area besides taking measures necessary for development of 'jungle mahal' (Maoist-affected areas of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts) where there were no roads, electricity or schools or colleges.