Thaindian News

By Shreeraj Gudi

New Delhi, Mar 5 (ANI): Booker award winning writer Arundhati Roy on Friday said that all social movements are in favour of stopping displacement of people, but the Maoists resistance differ in the way of strategy.

Addressing the media, here with other human rights activists, Roy said: “There are whole range of resistances, many are non violent, Gandhians, non-Maoists all of whom are saying the same thing, that enough of displacement.”

“The Maoists just differ in that strategies of resistance, but all the social movements are saying the same thing, enough of displacement,” she added.

Earlier, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had said the Centre is ready to freeze all the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with multi national companies, if the Maoists are ready to come to negotiating table, without any prior condition.

“Commenting whether the intellectuals and human right activists support Maoists, Roy said: “I am not a supporter of slightly stiff, cold, annihilation of class enemy doctrine stuff comes out of the ideologue. But on the ground I have travelled in these areas, the people (tribals) trust them (Naxals) more than they trust the state.”

In the chargesheet filed against Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy the police mentioned many organisations, and persons as having links with Kobad before and after his arrest.

Commenting on Union Home Secretary G K Pillai’s statement that the Maoists are working like an army, Roy said: “Maoists would be greatly complimented by any one saying that they are like an army. It is their aim to operate like an army, but right now they are a guerrilla force.”

Earlier in the day, Pillai said that the Maoists agenda was to overthrow the Indian state by 2050.

“Documents which were found revealed that the Maoists agenda was to overthrow the Indian state by 2050, possibly with the help of ex-Armymen,” Pillai said.

“Right now, Maoists were looking to regroup and build their own army towards their plans,” he said adding that they were using administrative vacuum and under development to do this.

On talks and ceasefire offers, Roy said: “I don’t know whether he (Koteshwar Rao) is the right person to represent the party. But when they said 72 days cease fire, then both side should stop violence and talk.”

On February 24, responding to Maoists announcement to observe ceasefire Chidambaram asked them to send a signed statement to his office and also gave the fax number. But Maoists did not stop violence, since then over 20 violent incidents have been reported from various parts of India. (ANI)