DUMKA, JHARKHAND, Apr 29: Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today asked Maoists to drop guns and join the mainstream saying there is no place for violence in the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Gautam Buddha.
“Doors are open for any (extremist) outfit willing to join the democratic process by contesting elections as there is no place for violence in the land of Buddha and Gandhiji”, Ramesh said at Dumka district’s Dhaka village.
Out of the total 78 Maoist-affected districts in the country 17 were in Jharkhand and the menace of terrorism could be tackled through rapid progressive work, said Ramesh, who visited sericulture breeding centres run by women self-help groups.
All round development work would help tribals in Jharkhand, where 10 lakh families whose land were acquired over the years were still to be rehabilitated.
Pitching for 75 per cent reservation for women in tribal communities in different fields to speed up developmental programmes, the union minister said, efforts should be made to enable 80 per cent profit to women SHGs involved in sericulture business.
“Now they get only 40 per cent profit (on silk production) due to existence of middle men. The Central Silk Board and state governments should ensure 80 per cent profit to the women silk SHGs”, he said.
A total 65,000 families are involved in sericulture in Jharkhand, out of which 10,000 are from Dumka district alone, he added. (PTI)
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