Rajnath's remark on talks with Maoists disappointing: CPI

CPI today asked Maoists to give up violence and join the democratic process but expressed disappointment over Home Minister Rajnath Singh's remarks that there would be no talks with the left wing extremists.
"The CPI is disappointed with the directive of the Union Home Minister that there will not be any discussions with Naxalite groups and they will be dealt with more stern action," the party's Central Secretariat said in a statement.
Observing that left extremism should be dealt with "a socio-economic perspective which needs a political solution", it said earlier attempts to deal it only as a law and order issue had "failed miserably".

Noting that it was government's responsibility to save lives and properties, the CPI said so long as poverty, indiscriminate exploitation of tribals, loot of mining wealth continued and the policy of land denial to tiller existed, "this issue will continue to crop up again and again."
"The root causes should be properly identified and all attempts to solve the problem, including dialogue with Naxals to bring them to the mainstream, should be tried," it said.
The CPI asked Maoists and other armed extremists groups to "come out of the concept of individual annihilation and violence and participate in democratic struggles in the country."

On the GAIL pipeline explosion in Andhra Pradesh, the party demanded a thorough enquiry, saying the accident occurred

"due to the criminal negligence of GAIL authorities."
Maintaining that local villagers had been reporting about frequent gas leakages in the recent past, it said while repairs were carried out only two days before the accident and were "not proper", it should also be probed "as to why the pipelines are not underground and (installed) through the village homesteads instead of taking them from outside."
Observing that this was not the first such accident that has occurred there, the CPI said "it is shameful that attempts are being made to attribute the accident to the carelessness of villagers.