LF against banning Maoists; says it will be countered politically

Kolkata, Jun 22: Discounting the proposal of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, the ruling Left Front in West Bengal today said it was against banning the CPI(Maoist) and would counter the underground organisation politically.
''We are of the view that organisations which pursue misguided politics, cannot be countered by banning them. It is rather important to counter them politically,'' Front Chairman Biman Basu said in a statement.

He said the left parties were already fighting the 'misguided politics and terrorist activities' of such outfits and ''that is why we are being attacked.'' ''It is a continous political process to alienate the people from the dangerous politics of the Maoists. This work has to be carried on,'' he said.

''However, it was also necessary for the administration to take steps to restore normal life,'' he said.

The Front’s statement came three days after Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was advised by the Union Home Minister in Delhi to ban the CPI(Maoist) in West Bengal to facilitate strong administrative measures against the activities of the organisation, particularly in areas like Lalgarh.

Mr Bhattacharjee later stated that the Left Front Government was giving a ‘serious thought’ to the proposal.

Front partners Forward Bloc and RSP also said they were not in favour of banning the Maoists since such an act would not help solve the problem.

''We do not think a ban on them will solve the problem; it has to be solved politically. Talks can be held with the Maoists, but they have to stop violence first,'' CPI State Council Secretary Manju Kumar Majumder said.

Forward Bloc Bengal Secretary Ashok Ghosh said, despite having fundamental differences with the Maoists, ''they are not our class enemies. We want them to follow the democratic path and we are against imposing a ban on them,'' he said.

UNI