Left jittery after Maoist threat

BY SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Mar 7: The CPI Maoists' allies in principle, the cadresof CPI and CPM in the district were whiplashed into action this week, by adevelopment not seen in nearly a decade after they received an ultimatumfrom CPI Maoist East Division Committee Secretary Jagadish. The EastDivision Committee comprises the extremists teams of East Godavari,Visakhapatnamm Vizianagaram and Srikakulam part of the Andhra OrissaBorder Zonal Committee (AOBZC ).The letter was a shock to the leftist leaders, who had been thought to bewell away from the Maoists' bite. The letter was addressed to CPI MLADemudu representing Chintapalli Agency assembly constituency, Koyyuru MPPB Ramarajyam and G K Veedhi Sarpanch K Balaram of CPM. The message wasclearly a chastisement to the leaders, accusing them of 'lackingdedication in the cause', and diluting essential principles that protectedthe people. A more dangerous accusation was that the leaders wereresponsible for the increase in surrenders that were taking place, andthat the movement was being diluted by the lack of their enthusiasm.In the comprehensive warning, two issues were raised by Jagadish - Bauxitemining and the not taking up agitations against the arrests of innocenttribals by the police branding them as sympathizers of naxals. Accordingto the letter, the local leaders had been sitting on the Bauxite issue fortoo long without proactive measures, while the government has been pilingon the necessary procedures towards the mining and the setting up ofaluminium refineries.In fact, the leaders themselves had admitted that the fight against mininghad been sidetracked by other issues for a spell. Jagadish claimed thatseveral local innocents were being held by police, and that the victimswere later branded sympathizers. He urged the Left to take up cudgelsagainst the police in this regard. Soon after the warnings the CPIdistrict unit under the aegis of the Chintapalli MLA Demudu laid siege theRDO office in Narsipatnam demanding the police to stop arresting innocenttribals branding them as naxal sympathizers. The Leftists are panic as theMaoists are on a killing spree since a few months.In just a period of three months the extremists killed 10 tribals for‘working’ in compliance with police and encouraging tribals. “It is truethat they have sent a warning asking us to take up issues seriously. Wewould definitely take up the bauxite issues and others seriously. This islike a jolt for us in recent times. Until now they have targeted andkilled only other political party leaders,” confessed a senior CPI leaderof Andhra. On the part of CPM they have launched a fresh series of ‘padayatras’ opposing the bauxite mining in the Agency areas on Monday.They vowed to intensify the agitation further in the coming days. Eightyears ago, CPI State council member Meka Suribabu, CPI District CommitteeMember K V Subbarao and CPI District Committee Member Nooki Naidu werekilled by Maoists at intervals of a year. The ghosts of these incidentshave begun to haunt those in power, and left activities have received astrong shot in the arm.