While the government says that it is yet to receive the proposal in writing from the Maoists’, Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee’s is unlikely to spurn the offer. But she would keep up her stance of a political solution of the problem at least until the scheduled Panchayat polls in May next year. She would step up her peace offensive and harp on abjuring of armed violence and killings by Maoists.

The government would also like to give currency to the growing impression in many quarters that Banerjee’s recent tough stance on the killings as well as her threat of resumption of strong arm methods by joint Central para-military (CRPF) and state security forces against Maoists has had the desired effect. At the same time, there is some scepticism if the ‘ceasefire’ offer with so many riders was anything but a ploy by Maoists to buy time in order to regroup and replenish their firepower for a fresh round of fierce attacks and killings. Neither local TMC men nor the security forces want to hold back the ongoing combing operations and arrests of wanted Maoists charged of murders and various acts of crimes.

The government and much less TMC can ill afford to compel the mushrooming ‘resistance committees’ yield any space to Maoists, or give up whatever little firearms they now possess for self-defence, as Maoists have been demanding. For, such a course would be suicidal and would totally destroy the morale of local political workers. This would help entrench Maoists’ position in the entire area irrevocably. Banerjee’s campaign of fighting Maoists politically and through local area development would also come to a naught, bringing grist to the mills of her bete noire, the CPI(M).

She knows full well that her ‘soft’ stance towards Maoists has already done immense damage to the campaign against the menace of Maoism in Bengal. Maoists have taken full advantage of suspended combing operations by CRPF in the last four months after she assumed power on May 20. Maoists have grown nakedly obdurate and are openly mocking at her regime. They are calling her names and have even threatened to bump her off and also her Labour Minister, Purnendu Basu and Union Minister of State for Shipping, Mukul Roy for their alleged ‘betrayal’.

Maoists have charged that TMC workers are now colluding with CRPF against them in the same manner as did the Marxists cadres before for cornering all the crumbs of newfound power. None of her party MLAs from the area can move without heavy security guards, while pressures are mounting on them to tender resignations from the Assembly for failing to protect Maoists.

But if she finds herself caught now in a quagmire of Maoists’ rampage and open defiance of her government despite peace and developmental efforts in the area she is alone largely to blame for the mess. While during her days in the Opposition she cried hoarse demanding immediate withdrawal of paramilitary forces from Bengal. She even boasted before poll that the danger of Maoists was all CPI(M)’s ‘crafty manoeuvre and creation with evil motives’ and that its ‘harmads’ (armed goons) were solely responsible for all the trouble and killings.

Mamata’s anti-CPM tirade had made Maoists cosy up to her. The TMC had bagged at least seven out of 14 Assembly seats in West Midnapore with the tacit support of Maoists in the last poll. In turn, Mamata promised to pack off the CRPF, and also to release unconditionally all their comrades put behind the bars by the Marxist regime when she came to power. But administrative and political compulsions have since forced her to renege on her promises.

Mamata chose to give a long rope to Maoists; stopping CRPF and state police taking punitive actions against Maoists while simultaneously announcing a slew of welfare measures for the long-deprived local tribal and scheduled castes population in order to wean them away from Maoists and bring back to the political mainstream. Her ‘special package’ announced during her visit to West Midnapore on July 12, including rehabilitation of surrendered Maoists, 10,000 jobs as policemen, NVF and home guards for local SC and ST youths, 2 kg free rice per month to all tribal BPL families, safe drinking water, monthly ‘peasant pension’ to over 75,000 families, hundreds of additional primary health centres, higher secondary schools, student hostels, 50,000 free cycles to school girls and boys, etc. had evoked support for the government and TMC.

But neither the Opposition, nor Maoists took kindly to this offer of largesse. The CP(M) dubbed it a hoax, asserting that the fund-starved government would not be able to finance any of the schemes. Most of the announced projects had been initiated by the earlier government, but could not be implemented due to the armed resistance by Maoists. The CPI(M) has instead offered its support to the government for taking Maoists head on.

Yet there is no denying the fact that feeling unnerved by a growing enthusiasm among a large section of local people over the proposed welfare measures and jobs for local youths, Maoists have unleashed a smear campaign against the government. People at large have really got tired of senseless bloodletting and killing of innocent civilians daily. Debabrata Banerjee, MP, a leading luminary of Mamata’s ‘think tank’ contends that even a modicum of success of these measures would help remove poverty in the area largely and would knock off the very base and ‘fertile ground’ on which Maoists had so far been thriving.

Dismissing government sops as mere peanuts, an erstwhile Naxalite leader and ideologue, Asim Chatterjee has opined that Maoists can have very little interest in this package and its ‘fair distribution’ among the poor as they are fighting for political power by force of guns. They are not so naïve as to miss the motive behind Mamata Banerjee’s so-called developmental program. Her moves are aimed at branding Maoists ‘anti-development and anti-poor’ and thus isolate them from the broad sections of the local population, he argues.

But even as Mamata Banerjee fails to arrive at a desirable political consensus over her well-intended welfare schemes she is now left with no better alternative than to carry on with her ‘carrot and stick’ policy towards Maoists. For, despite extreme provocations she cannot reject outright the ‘ceasefire’ offer and call off the ‘peace talks’. Many of her own Jangalmahal TMC MLAs, her prominent supporters from the ‘civil society’ (poets, artists, educationists) and the estranged TMC MP, Kabir Suman also strongly desire continuation of talks and ties with Maoists. Though little hopeful of any tangible outcome, she dreads bearing the onus of a breakdown of talks. She can concede any of Maoists demand (withdrawal of a section of CRPF and release of some prisoners, even as a token gesture) at her own peril.

Maoists, battle ready to unleash a reign of terror once again with far more ferocity than before, are eager to buy time using the ceasefire pretext. Thus, for the moment, both sides are locked in a ‘war of attrition’ and neither side would like to blink first. (IPA Service)