By IANS,
Kolkata : West Bengal Public Works Department Minister Kshiti Goswami Monday said top Maoist leader Kishenji called him up three months back asking for withdrawal of security forces from West Midnapore’s Lalgarh region.
“Kishenji (Alias Koteswar Rao) had called me up almost three months back. He asked me over phone that the government must withdraw the joint forces from Lalgharh region,” Goswami, a senior Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader, told reporters after the ruling Left Front meeting here.
“I was in Agartala at that time. I told him (Kishenji) that it cannot happen like this. If you want a solution you must sit for talks with the government first.”
The Maoists are engaged in a confrontation with the security forces in Lalgarh, where they had established a virtual free zone from November last year to mid-June.
There have been reports that Kishenji had called up Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also. However, Bhattacharjee has denied the reports.