CPI(M) wants PM's statement in Parliament on Naxals

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was today asked to make a statement in Parliament with respect to the Centre's position on Naxals by the CPI (M) after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee backed Mamata Banerjee's stand on Azad's killing.

“Let the Prime Minister give a statement in Parliament and spell out clearly the correct position of the Centre regarding the Naxals,” CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose said commenting on Mukherjee's observation yesterday that he found "nothing wrong" in Mamata's statement.

At a rally in Lalagarh on August 9, Mamata had said Azad's killing on July 2 was "not correct" - a statement for which she faced drew flak from the opposition parties.

The senior Congress leader also said there was no reason to suspect that the Railway Minister's party had links with Maoists.

“If she thinks that the Maoist problem can be negotiated through dialogue and invites the Maoists for talks then that doesn't mean that she has links with the Maoists...She has got every right to make independent statement” Mukherjee had stated at a book release programme at Kolkata Press Club.