After the attempt on the life of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister by CPI(ML)-People’s War, ruling BJP leaders have gone overboard in denouncing Naxalism and terming Naxalites as terrorists. They have sought to do so in the name of saving democracy which according to them exists in our country. Fake encounters, denial of rights to the people, blatant use of money and muscle power to rig elections, inhuman attacks on lives and property of minorities, oppression of and atrocities on dalits and tribals are surely the ground rules of their democracy. The perpetrators of murderous mayhem, the destroyers of cultural heritage of India are becoming apostles of peace and democracy!

BJP-RSS leaders have since long been terming Naxalites as opponents of the India of their dreams. They are right in this. Naxalites are certainly opposed to the Hindu Rashtra of their dreams. Naxalites are certainly opposed to their sale of the country to foreign capital. Naxalites are also certainly opposed to their Hindutva (basically upper caste chauvinism), suppression of rights of minorities, oppressed castes and tribes and women’s rights. In a nutshell, Naxalites are opposed to whatever these traders of national interests and of the interests of the people stand for. It is definitely ironical that these murderers of Gujarat should lecture to the people on the evils of violence, which they daily perpetrate on the people, particularly on weaker sections.

Chandrababu Naidu, while recovering in hospital, has expressed his commitment to ahimsa. He was however rendered speechless when the journalists asked him whether his ahimsa covered fake encounters. Chandrababu Naidu, who has become a special favourite of World Bank and western imperialist powers particularly USA, has no qualms in killing Naxalites in fake encounters on a daily basis. Such is the hypocrisy of ahimsa of these leaders that it admits, rather sanctifies, the violence of the ruling classes, but rules out – rather prohibits – counter-violence of oppressed people which, in their opinion, calls for strong action to curb it.

Mr. Naidu will find it hard to answer what canon of ahimsa he was following when the three Central Committee members of CPI(ML)-People’s War were arrested in Bangalore, brought to Andhra Pradesh and killed in cold blood. He will also find it difficult to answer as to which ahimsa his forces were following when they gunned down Com. Dharmanna, a 75 year old veteran of people’s struggles in West Godavari district not long back. Or when his police force arrested three state committee members of CPI(ML)-Janashakti from different parts of AP and killed them recently. Mr. Naidu’s non-violent conscience is obviously at peace with the daily killing of revolutionary communists in Andhra Pradesh.

While ruling classes are indulging in crude exploitation and oppression of the people, while they are betraying the interests of the country and the people, people can rid themselves of these vultures only through making New Democratic Revolution victorious in the country. And to that end, the primary task of the communist revolutionaries is to intensify the agrarian revolutionary movement.

The attempt by CPI(ML)-People’s War on the life of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister near Tirupati through detonating land mines has obviously no relation with the agrarian revolutionary movement. CPI(ML)-People’s War leaders have owned up the attack in a press statement, have termed Naidu as “enemy of the people” and claimed that hence he “deserved to be eliminated.” (Hindu, 4^th October, 2003) CPI(ML)-New Democracy does not accept such individual elimination as correct or in the interest of the people’s movement, particularly agrarian revolutionary movement. Such individual attacks are based on erroneous understanding that by eliminating a few ruling class politicians one can reverse the direction of the policies of the ruling classes. They also create illusion among the revolutionary people that such individual attacks can bring down the anti-people system. Rather, the ruling classes utilize such individual attacks to hide their anti-people policies and to unleash further repression on the people. They help the ruling classes in camouflaging the real issues before the people and their own betrayal of the people.

CPI(ML)-New Democracy has been and continues to be totally opposed to such individual attacks on the ruling class politicians as they do not accord with the strategy of armed agrarian revolution. CPI(ML)-New Democracy therefore disapproves of this attack by CPI(ML)-Peoples’ War. We appeal to all communist revolutionaries and revolutionary people to shun such individual attacks and intensify agrarian revolutionary movement in the country. CPI(ML)-New Democracy demands that Andhra Pradesh Govt. must give up its policy of fake encounters and repression on struggling masses.