A senior leader of India’s Maoist rebels has said that the government will have to declare a “simultaneous” ceasefire in order to enable talks between the two sides.
Koteswara Rao said this was the government’s last “chance for peace”.
India has asked the rebels in the past to unilaterally declare a 72-hour ceasefire to enable talks.
PM Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist insurgency as India’s biggest internal security challenge.