-The Economic Times   The youth wing of the Trinamool Congress will hold a huge rally in the Maoist stronghold of Belpahari in West Midnapore district on November 1. This will be the first meeting of a political party in Belpahari. "I am expecting a gathering of about one lakh in our rally in the so-called Maoist heartland," Youth Trinamool Congress General Secretary Suvendu Adhikari told ET on Tuesday. He alleged that...

The team of interlocutors appointed by the West Bengal Government to explore the possibility of peace talks with the Maoists has submitted a note on the discussions. The note was sent to the Government and the State leadership of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). It “summarises the discussions” the interlocutors had with both the sides since it was formed in July. Implicit in the note are the views of the interlocutors...

-The Telegraph   Mamata Banerjee today talked of “good” and “bad” Maoists, the differentiation said to be part of a strategy to drive a wedge in the rebel camp. “Not all Maoists are bad. Some are doing good work. One section, however, does not believe in democracy. They indulge in violence and bloodbath,” she told journalists on the sidelines of the National Development Council meeting at Vigyan Bhavan. Mamata’s differentiation came on the day...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today reached out to India’s civil society and sought to be in sync with the restive public mood worldwide. Singh warmly appreciated “Anna Hazareji’s movement”, condemning the physical attacks on Team Anna members in recent days, sympathised with the sentiments of the Occupy Wall Street protests and praised the role of the judiciary as central to India’s democracy. In a wide-ranging interaction with journalists on his flight home...

Gram panchayats to provide land and create the grounds The Ministry of Rural Development has decided to bring sports back into the lives of the tribal boys and girls in the 60 left-wing extremist-affected districts where the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) has been implemented. Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has cleared the proposal to construct one playground in each village, falling under the 60 IAP districts under the Mahatma Gandhi...