Speaking from his office he said on Tuesday, "I have not been contacted by anyone from the Chhattisgarh government yet (till 2pm)," he said.
Sharma has worked for tribal rights for more than four decades and spearheads the 'Bharat Jan Andolan'. He has also written a few books on the state of tribals in the country.
In a daring exercise, the Maoists on Saturday abducted 2006-batch IAS officer Alex Paul Menon, 32, from a meeting at Majhipara village in Keralapal area of Chhattisgarh. The Maoists have demanded the release of eight of their colleagues, plus a stoppage to 'Operation Green Hunt' as a precursor to free Menon.
Sharma also said that he felt that all the demands made by the Maoists rebels are justified. "I feel they are justified. This has always happened," he said.
On their demand to stop 'Operation Green Hunt', Sharma asked, almost sarcastically, "What is Operation Green Hunt?" "You are taking away the natural homes of the tribal people. The whole struggle now is about who controls the natural resources in that area," he added.
"The government will have all the records of the bricks cemented in an area, but do they have any record of how many people were displaced for their so called 'schemes?", he asked.
The Maoist rebels have also said they want cases against their men be taken back, and those put in jail be released.
Sharma had also been involved in the mediation of the release of two Italian tourists in Odisha under Maoist captivity barely two weeks ago. The Italian tourists were released only after the government ceded to the demands made by the Maoists, he noted.
Sharma said that the Odisha government is now working on the demands of the Maoists rebels. "There were similar demands made then as well, like taking back of 'fake cases' and release of their people from jail, and they are working on it now," he said.
