They are our own people: HM Sharma

Bastar: Choosing the word ‘rehabilitation' over ‘surrender' after 210 armed Naxalites returned to the mainstream in Jagdalpur on Friday, Chhattisgarh deputy CM and Home minister Vijay Sharma said the insurgents "are our own people, who were in conflict with the state, and it was better to say they chose rehabilitation, not surrender".Speaking to media persons after the State accomplished one of the largest single-day surrender of the banned cadres in the history of Naxal violence in the state, Sharma said the process of return and rehabilitation has only just begun, as many more cadres are in contact with officials to respond to the state initiative to bring them back into the mainstream. The surrender saw the entire divisional committees of Marh and North Bastar divisions, with the exception of the Keshkal committee of the Maoists, joining the rehabilitation campaign, the minister informed the media, adding that the returning cadres include those who served as doctors, communication and zonal press officials in the rebel ranks. On the key demands placed by the Maoists before giving up their guns, Sharma said some of them were already under consideration."As they have demanded, there would be no compulsion for the returning cadres to join the District Reserve Guard (DRG), while those currently in jail and willing to be rehabilitated will be given that option. He added that the ban on Moolvasi Bachao Manch will be lifted by the State by the end of this month," Sharma said.