India, Oct. 21 -- The central committee of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) has called for a countrywide bandh on October 24 to protest against what it termed as the "ongoing war waged by the government against the Maoist party leaders and cadre in the interests of corporate forces."

In a statement issued on October 15, that was released to the media on Monday, CPI (Maoist) central committee spokesperson Abhay alleged that the security forces were carrying out an extended "counter-insurgency war" for over five-and-a-half months in regions such as Narayanpur, Bijapur, Kanker, Sukma (Chhattisgarh), West Singhbhum (Jharkhand), and parts of Odisha, leading to large-scale operations against Maoist cadres.

The Maoist party spokesp...