A huge cache of arms recovered in West Midnapore was a harsh reminder of the strength and influence the Maoists wield in parts of Bengal. Security forces have launched a 72-hour combing operation in Purulia and West Midnapore and Mamata, so far keen on talks with the Maoists, has been talking tough since Wednesday. She called the Maoists more dangerous than terrorists, blamed them for the Jnaneswari Express train accident that killed more than 160 passengers in May last year, and promised strong action.
Her warning came a day after the Maoists offered to extend their unilateral ceasefire offer by four months if the operation by joint forces was kept suspended for the same period.
Mamata's sudden u-turn even took the six interlocutors she appointed, by surprise. They have offered to step down. The West Bengal Chief Minister will now meet them on Saturday to appease them.
But as she faced uncomfortable questions about a full-scale anti-Maoist operation and the collapse of peace talks, on Thursday afternoon, Mamata did what she does best. In an unprecedented moved, she did a joint press conference with two top Maoist commanders who came to surrender at the Writers' Building. Jagori Soren and her husband Rajaram are believed to have led the Maoists operation behind the massacre of 24 jawans of the Eastern Frontier Rifles inside their camp at Silda in West Midnapore in February 2010.
"I feel sad even if one person is killed. Even if he or she is a Maoist or belongs to the CPI(M), Trinamool or Congress. I still believe that the Maoists can fight with us ideologically, but please stop this violence. I am happy they have come back. I appeal to my other brothers and sisters to come back to mainstream. The government will take care of you," Mamata said.
One of the surrendered Maoists Jagori Soren said, "I did what the Maoist leaders told me to do.
But then I started seeing the development happening in Junglemahal."
Earlier, Mamata had said that there was nothing called Maoists in West Bengal. She called them the creation of the CPI(M). Today, she stands at the crossroads and it seems that she will go ahead with her carrot-and-stick policy to deal with the Maoists
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