The six interlocutors appointed by the West Bengal government more than four months ago to explore the possibility of talks with the Maoists informed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday of their decision to pull out of the exercise.
“We have expressed our desire to be relieved of the responsibilities assigned to us by the State government,” a key interlocutor told The Hindu here.
The decision conveyed in a letter comes on the heels of a fresh bout of violence in the Jangalmahal area of Purulia district, where two members of a family of a Trinamool Congress activist were gunned down by Maoists, and the subsequent killing of two extremists by the security forces in an overnight operation that continued till Tuesday morning.
“In view of the recent developments, we think that we cannot play any effective and positive role in the peace talks,” he said. If an acknowledgement from the Chief Minister was not forthcoming within a week, it would be taken for granted that their request was accepted by the government.
The interlocutors, appointed on July 7, have made clear that they still believe that “dialogue is the only solution” to the issue. There have been distinct signs of unease among the interlocutors over the recent developments in the Jangalmahal area in the wake of the expiration of the month-long cease-fire offer by the Maoists on the condition that joint security operations against them are suspended during the period.
The truce offer commencing from September 30 had been made through a statement whose signatories were the State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) Akash, and two of the main interlocutors, Sujato Bhadra and Choton Das.
