Kolkata:
Maoists and interlocutors appointed by the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have laid out their preconditions for a ceasefire in Junglemahal in West Bengal.
In a press release, they have said that if the government agrees "in letter and spirit" to stop joint force operations in Junglemahal, the Naxals will also cease the use of arms for a month.
The press release is signed by CPI(Maoist) West Bengal secretary Akash and interlocutor Sujato Bhadra. Mr Bhadra told NDTV the offer to stop using arms for a month depends on the government suspending joint force operations for that period.
This development comes four days after the interlocutors met Ms Banerjee who made it clear that while her government is keen to engage with Naxals to end the violence in the state, talks cannot continue indefinitely.
In the last fortnight, the Naxals have killed at least three people in the West Midnapore district, two of them Trinamool leaders. That provoked Ms Banerjee to lash out at the Left-wing extremists saying negotiations and killings cannot continue at the same time. The Maoists retorted that in the same vein, joint operations and peace talks cannot be held simultaneously.
Ahead of her colossal victory in the West Bengal elections in May this year, Ms Banerjee had promised that central and state government security forces would be withdrawn from the three districts which make up Junglemahal - West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia. In July this year, she visited the region and promised development, while urging Naxals to abandon violence and fight for the country instead.
But lately, with the Maoists targeting her own party, Ms Banerjee has been indicating that her patience is running out. Last month, she claimed that Maoists were trying to kill her - denied by the insurgents in an open letter last week.