Odisha Home Secretary U.N Behera Thursday said that Maoists were being given open invitation for dialogue with the Government either at Malkangiri or at Home Department in the Odisha Secretariat at Bhubaneswar.
The Maoists have given 48-hour deadline to the Odisha Government to stop anti-maoist operation immediately and release of jailed maoists in liue of freeing Krishna. With less than 24 hours to go for the deadline, Odisha Home Secretary UN Behera has appealed the red-ultras to come to the table for negoiation. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also appealed the red-ultras to free the IAS officer as he has been serving the poor people of Maoist-affected Malkangiri district. Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress and BJP have slammed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for failing to act on the issue and surrendering itself before the Maoists.
Maoist sympathizer and revolutionary writer Varavara Rao appealed to Maoists to release the abducted Malkangiri Collector R. Veenel Krishna and a junior engineer immediately.
Rao has also asked the Orissa Government to fulfill the genuine demands of the Maoists on the occasion. He was reportedly contacted by the Orissa Government for help to get the collector freed.