Taken place with barrack-mould secrecy, delegates and observers aggregated between 425 and 450 including available CC and polit bureau members in the two-day meeting. Sleuths were befooled and intelligence perception once again proved flawed as the hint about the meet reached sleuths after it was over and departure of delegates back to their respective bases. Having gone for the obvious, the intelligence network was beefed up assuming complacently that a plenary meeting of the CPI(Maoist) CC would take place in Malkangiri or around as the Maoists' base there is among the most formidable outside Dantewada. But the alternate impression -based on more systematic homework was that Maoists - were for consolidation of 'liberated and semi-liberated pockets”, according to DSP-rank official of a central intelligence organization. Seething with anger for adventurous raid into Mukrana forest, he told IPA, “The Dantewada tragedy was the outcome of arm-chair intelligence and weak source-network. The very first thing is a probe into the reasons for suicidal decision to chase the Maoists and the stupid tactic of returning the same way as they went there. Seventy-six jawans were pushed into a death-trap. You can't expect a through revelation from a hurriedly- prepared report, submitted by E N Rammohan, former director-general, Border Security Forces. A septuagenarian man, however competent he is, can dish out a cosmetic analysis. The scar is very deep”.

The CPI(Maoist) general secretary Mupalla Laxman Rao a k a Ganapathy was in the chair. Koteswara Rao a k a Kishanji, chief of military command, also participated in the deliberations, according information from a handful of Maoist guerrillas, roped in by the sleuths. The mainline media continuously misinformed that Kishanji was 'severely wounded' or killed in a gun battle in West Medinipur between the joint force - comprising the CRPF and other central para-military contingents as also specially trained counter-guerrilla platoons like Grey Hound and COBRA groups as also West Bengal armed police - and Maoist combatants.

But Kishanji was pulled up for “excessive exposure to media over phone or fax messages”. It helped the 'enemies' track down a few of our base areas of Jangalmahal”. He was relieved of his responsibility of overseeing military activities by M. Hembram a k a Bikash as in-charge of guerrilla operations in Bengal-Orissa-Jharkhand Zone. Incidentally, the techname Bikash is not fixed. Previously, Singrai, an Adivasi youth, had this techname while the media repeatedly misinformed that Bikash was techname of Sasadhar Mahato, brother of Chhatradhar Mahato, Pulisi Santras BirodhI Janaganer Committee ( People's Committee against Police Atrocities), now booked under UAP(A) Act, 2005.

No document was circulated at the two-day conference but a moderately long draft was placed, but sources are sharply split. A former official of Intelligence Bureau, Central government, thinks, “Two-day deliberations without adopting any document after debate seem absurd, going by my experience of shadowing CPI, CPI(M), CPI(M-L) and other Naxalite groups. One of the crucial issues, debate on which was over due, was sorted out: possibility of switching over to 'half-partisan struggle' (one half engaged in open politics, preferably under a mass front and the other half working underground) and timing of such a transitional step. This was confirmed by a linkman between the Maoist brass and a senior office bearer of CPI(Maoist)-backed All India People's Resistance Forum.

The issue that hotted up and took a lively shape was on whether to embark on even a friendly polemic with intellectuals who supported the Lalgarh resistance under the PSBJC frequently blame the Maoists for killing Adivasis. “We must have patience as long as possible as our criticism may be a shot in the arm of ruling compradors and their stooges like the CPI(M) and CPI”, a CC member told a couple of Naxalites detainees in West Bengal until the early 1980s. Delegates were reminded of the intrepid role of a significantly large section of intellectuals - artists, cinema and stage actors and writers who strongly criticized the West Bengal Police for arresting the PSBJC convenor Chhatradhar Mahato by allowing a sub-inspector pretending as an accredited reporter. “We must patiently listen to their dissenting opinion so that they do not switch back to the ruling parties at the Centre or states and we can't forget how they stood up against intimidation from not only the state machinery but CPI(M) 'harmads' as well ”, a delegate from West Bengal argued.

Ganapathy reiterated what he told an interview to Jan Myrdal, son of Nobel laureate in economics Gunnar Myrdal, and Gautam Navlakha, general secretary, Peoples Union for Democratic Rights about the increasing repressive state machinery to crush the Maoists in January. The integration of Indian economy, defence, internal security, polity, culture and entire state with the imperialists, particularly with the US imperialists “is unprecedented”. He quoted frequently-mentioned dictum of Mao Zedong - convert crisis into opportunity. ”The fundamental contradiction between imperialism and Indian people has further sharpened. It will give great scope to unite people against imperialists and fight back imperialism”, the Maoist big boss told in his January interview.

The Maoist leadership does not envision any possibility of starting dialogues with the Central and or state government. It will be a tactical blunder after Dantewada killings. “We are no rigid on setting out preconditions for dialogue. If the other side takes a similar stand, an atmosphere for dialogue may be built up. The Centre has an in-built desire to sabotage the dialogue before it takes place. It could sit with ULFA and other secessionists without any condition but wants us to give up armed struggle. Without armed struggle, our politics and ideology becomes meaningless. Mind you, neither the war nor violence started from our side”, the CC member stated. (IPA)