New Delhi, Aug. 14: On the eve of the nation’s 64th Independence Day, the President, Ms Pratibha Devisingh Patil, urged Maoist rebels to abandon the path of violence. She asked them to come to the negotiating table to work out a solution to their problems.
“The proponents of extreme ideologies and the followers of left-wing extremism must abandon their path of violence. I call on them to join national efforts for growth and development,” she said in the address telecast on national television.
The President maintained that protracted development efforts will be required in Naxal-affected areas and hoped that everybody will come forward and move the left-wing extremists in this direction. She said peace was essential if prosperity was to be achieved, and to defeat terror all nations must work collectively.