india

Updated: Apr 06, 2020 12:10 IST

The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has announced a unilateral ceasefire and announced that they would not attack security forces because of the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak across the country.

CPI (Maoist) Malkangiri-Koraput-Visakha Border (MKVB) division’s committee secretary Kailasam released on Sunday a hand-written statement in Telugu to the Andhra Pradesh media that stated the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, was creating havoc across the world.

“Our party, People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (an armed wing of the CPI-Maoist), and various frontal organisations of the party have decided against carrying out any kind of attack on the security forces during this period,” the statement said.

Kailasam, however, warned that the party would be compelled to retaliate, if security forces resort to any kind of action. “We demand that the government responds to our statement within five days,” Kailsam said.

Civil rights activists have welcomed the ceasefire proposal, urging both the Centre and Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (AP) governments to respond positively.

In a joint statement, Civil Liberties Committee’s (CLC) Telangana unit president Dr Gaddam Laxman and AP chief V Chittababu said: “The Centre and state governments should work in tandem to create a peaceful environment by accepting the proposal.”