Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren on Wednesday left for New Delhi along with his two deputy chief ministers to discuss the Maoist problem in the state with union Home Minister P. Chidambaram.
Mr. Soren and Deputy Chief Ministers Raghubar Das and Sudesh Mahto left for New Delhi Wednesday afternoon. According to government sources, Mr. Chidambaram has called Mr. Soren for talks on the Maoist menace and the proposed Green Hunt operation in Jharkhand.
“We will understand the view of the home minister and present our side in the meeting,” Raghubar Das told reporters before leaving for New Delhi.
He refused to divulge details of the meeting, which is to take place Thursday.
When Mr. Soren took charge of Jharkhand for the third time Dec 30, he said that the proposed offensive against Maoists, which has been named Operation Green Hunt, would not be launched without the state government’s nod.
“We will talk to the central government. Such an operation cannot take place without the consent of the state government,” he said then.
Mr. Soren even invited the rebels for dialogue. Maoist leader Kishanji through local media responded to the dialogue offer but demanded that no offensive be launched, arrested rebels be released and that security forces vacate schools.
Mr. Chidambaram had in November labelled the anti-Maoist operation a media invention and said that the central government was only assisting states in counter-insurgency measures.
On Jan 22, Mr. Soren said he was not opposed to the anti-Maoist operation in the state.
