Maoist leader Pramod Mishra justifies burning of schools in Bihar as part of Naxal insurgency

Pramod Mishra, a member of the Maoist politburo, who was apprehended by the police a couple of days ago, admitted that the extremist group was responsible for the destruction and explosions targeting schools in Bihar.

Gaya (Bihar): Pramod Mishra, a Maoist politburo member who was arrested two days ago with Rs 1 crore on his head, admitted that ultras were responsible for burning schools in Bihar. Speaking to reporters while being produced in a Bihar court, the septuagenarian Maoist leader said, “The schools were torched because they were being used as shelter houses for central forces and police personnel.”

Coming down heavily on the opposition leadership the, Maoist leader said, “The opposition is silent on burning issues of the country. Think about Manipur. What is happening there? But the role of the opposition is not at all satisfactory and by doing this they are, in a way, supporting the BJP government”.

The Eastern Zonal Command Maoist leader, who was responsible for controlling several states in the East including Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and North Eastern states, conceded that the organization in the recent past suffered setbacks, particularly after the demise of Sandeep Yadav, also known as Bade Sarkar, in Bihar.

“The loss of Bade Sarkar had left the organization in a precarious situation and the group is yet to find his replacement,” the Maoist leader said. Terming the BJP and the centre as a ‘fascist’ force, Mishra said, “They are collaborating with the top corporate houses and are trying to exploit the people. The path to genuine liberation lay in the tenets of Marxism, new democracy, socialism, and communism.”

Mishra and his associate were apprehended by security agencies in Bihar’s Gaya near the Jharkhand-Bihar border, on Wednesday night. Until recently, he was believed to be in the Saranda area, which serves as the headquarters for the Maoist Eastern Regional Bureau overseeing states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and the North East.