Naxalite Movement splits in Karnataka ?

Karnataka naxal movement splits

K. Srinivas Reddy

HYDERABAD: Sharp differences over the Maoist strategy of area-wise seizure of power led to a split in the naxalite party operating in Karnataka.

The ideologues, who disagreed with the Maoist principle of intensifying the revolution in rural areas first and then spreading it to urban centres, have floated a new party named the Maoist Coordination Committee (MCC).

The split in Karnataka has obviously turned out to be an `unpalatable' development for the party leaders, as it comes in the backdrop of intensified efforts to unite smaller naxalite parties in the country. With a majority of the cadres in Karnataka quitting the parent party and joining the MCC, the ideologues are worried. The name of the leader who engineered the split has not yet been announced. He is stated to be making serious attempts to contact the leaders in other states and mass organisations to woo them back into the MCC fold.

Alarmed over this, the CPI (Maoist) Polit Bureau has recently written to all its party members in the country `to expose their opportunistic and disruptionist activities'.

Sources say the split was discussed at length at the recent Polit Bureaumeeting held from November 16 to 24, 2006. The meeting attended by central committee secretary Ganapathi decided to step up efforts to convince their cadres on the futility of the `new line'.

The meeting felt that the central committee had failed to initiate steps to stem the dissent and ideological disagreements had accentuated after the killing of Saketh Rajan (February 6, 2005).

Maoist activity in varying intensities is seen in Bidar, Gulbarga, Bellary, Raichur, Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Kodagu, Tumkur and Kolar.

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