End the 'war', talk to Maoists, PUDR says

New Delhi, May 31 (IANS) The People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) Friday urged the central and state governments to talk to Maoists in order to end the "war" raging in the vast Bastar region in Chhattisgarh.

The PUDR said the Maoist attack in the state May 25 that left some 30 people dead "is the latest in the series of killings in the undeclared war the Indian government is waging against our own people".

It said in a statement that many of the victims of the war were poor adivasis or tribals killed by security forces. PUDR called upon people to bring pressure on the ruling parties in New Delhi and in the nine state governments waging the war to de-escalate the militarization of the region and show a commitment towards dialogue.

"We hope that the deaths of 30 people (May 25) and of hundreds of people in the past eight years are sufficient reason for people to recognize the absurdity of this war."

PUDR also asked the central government "to shed its policy of deniability and accept that it is engaged in an internal war. "And we ask both sides to abide by the rules that govern war," it said.

The May 25 ambush of a convoy of Congress vehicles killed, among others, the Chhattisgarh president of the Congress and Mahendra Karma, who headed Salwa Judum, a militia that fought the Maoists.

While agree that talk is the only solution but I believe that unless the government makes a conscious effort to root out corruption from all walks of life they cannot satisfy the poor.

Are the poor blind or deaf that they cannot see the all round corruption existing?

Will they be satisfied with just talks.

This government has been an utter failure in curbing corruption - not that the BJP government has been any better as we saw in Karnataka. People tell me that it has become a part of life and I should accept it.

Why should I?

Corruption starts from the top.

If the rulers in Delhi can announce with a straight face that they will not be corrupt themselves, it will percolate down.

The Prime Minister regrets that the Opposition parties did not allow important bill to be passed.

But who is responsible?

The Opposition had asked for the resignations of two ministers Ashwini Kumar and Pawan Bansal and then they would allow Parliament to function.

The Congress asked the two to resign but only after Parliament was adjourned prematurely.

If the resignations had been taken a few days earlier, those important bills may have been passed.