Krishna Madiga moots talks with Maoists

Condemns killing of two tribal leaders

Manda Krishna Madiga

Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti founder-president Manda Krishna Madiga has mooted talks with the Maoists by the Union and State governments.

All the government schemes were meant for the poor. The Maoists, who also claim to be working for the poor, should come out with their views on improving the situation, Mr. Krishna Madiga said at a press conference here on Tuesday.

Failure of talks in the past should not prevent both the sides from coming to the table again, he said, citing repeated efforts of the Union government to engage Pakistan in a dialogue and the U.S. and North Korean Presidents coming together to defuse tension of a war.

Mr. Krishna Madiga was of the view that the Maoists lacked “class attitude.”

“Both MLA Sarveswara Rao and former MLA Soma had not amassed wealth,” he said. He condemned the killing of the two leaders.

‘SI made scapegoat’

Going by the police accounts of how the attack had taken place, 60 Maoist cadres were close to Dumbriguda. It was an intelligence failure. The entire rural district police were responsible, but SI Amman Rao was made the scapegoat, Mr. Krishna Madiga said.

The police also failed to reach the spot till 7 p.m. As a result, the relatives had to shifted the bodies. Deploying a large number of security forces later at Dumbriguda and other areas would not lead to apprehending the Maoists, he said.

Apart from the benefits that would be given to the families affected by Maoist violence, ₹1 crore each should be given as compensation to the next of kin of the two leaders, he said. An additional job too should be provided to the eligible in the families, he added.