West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asks Maoists to lay down arms

KOLKATA: At a pre-poll rally in Nayagram, Mamata Banerjee had promised to resolve Jangalmahal's woes once she came to power.

A little over two months later, she returns to Nayagram as Chief Minister, amid high expectations, and she did her best to keep her promise. She doled out 10,000 jobs for the people of Jangalmahal, special financial packages, bicycles for girl students and the promise of considering a bridge to be built over the Subarnarekha.

Mamata on Tuesday asked the Maoists to join the mainstream by laying down arms and promised that her government would provide them compensation and take care of their families.

"on't encourage unrest and don't take up firearms and guns. If you want to take up guns, do this for the government and to protect Jangalmahal. Our government has decided to recruit 10,000 local youth of Jangalmahal in police forces within three months. Application forms for such recruitment will be made available to you from local police stations. No one in Jangalmahal will remain jobless," the Chief Minister announced at a function at Kharikamathani in the Nayagram area of Jangalmahal.