Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, KCR call for outreach towards Maoists as crackdown continues

Also, on Sunday evening, while addressing a public meeting in Hanamkonda,former Telangana CM and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president K Chandrashekar Rao or KCR urged the Centre to “stop” the anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh immediately and “hold talks with Naxals like it is done in a democracy”. The meeting was held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the BRS’ formation.

A civil society group, Peace Talks Committee (PTC), met Revanth Reddy at his residence in Hyderabad to appeal to him to “take initiatives” to facilitate peace talks between the BJP-ruled Centre and Maoists besides “convincing” the Union government for a ceasefire.

Led by the committee’s convener Justice Chandrakumar, its delegation comprising civil rights activists Prof Haragopal, Prof Anwar Khan, Durga Prasad, Jampanna, and Ravi Chander submitted a memorandum to the CM, which stated: “Our committee’s primary objective is to facilitate peaceful discussions between both sides, encourage a cessation of hostilities, find lasting solutions to end violence, and make suggestions to both parties. And also, our main objective is to save lives. Whether it is the life of an innocent Adivasi or the police force or a member of armed dalam.”

According to a release from the CM’s Office (CMO), Revanth Reddy told the committee members that his government looked at Naxalism only from a social prism. “The CM informed the committee that the government will seek advice and suggestions from senior leader K Jana Reddy, who held talks with Maoists in the past, on Naxal issues. The State Cabinet will also discuss the issue and take a decision soon,” the CMO said.

CM Reddy went to meet Jana Reddy at his residence Monday along with government advisors K Kesava Rao and Vem Narender Reddy. Later, the CM told reporters that the government would announce its policy on the issue soon.

As the then home minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Jana Reddy had led the government delegation in the October 2004 talks between Maoists and the then YS Rajashekara Reddy-led Congress government.

At the BRS event, KCR, in his speech, stated that it was “undemocratic” to attack and eliminate Maoists, urging the Centre to halt the current security operation against Maoists in the Karregutta hills along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border. “Today, the Central government, in the name of Operation Kagar, is killing youth and tribals in Chhattisgarh. It is not fair. I am requesting the Centre, it is not democracy that you go on killing people. Operation Kagar should be stopped immediately. Give Naxalites democratic space and hold talks,” he said.

Hitting out at both CM Reddy and KCR, the BJP’s floor leader in the state Assembly, Aleti Maheswar Reddy, said both the Congress and the BRS were on the same page on the Naxal issue, alleging that they were working in collusion. “KCR is looking for revival with the help of Naxals, despite the fact that so many Naxals were killed in encounters during his BRS government. The same is the case with Congress. During YS Rajashekhara Reddy and Jalagam Vengala Rao’s tenures as the undivided Andhra Pradesh CMs, so many Naxals were killed. The two parties are now just using the issue to criticise BJP and divert from their failures,” he told The Indian Express.

Senior BRS leader B Vinod Kumar said his party has opposed “extra-judicial killings” of Naxals even during the Congress governments. “When Congress was in power, they too did the same in the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh. We are against mass killings of Naxals who are unarmed and holed up without doing any retaliation. We had opposed the Congress governments over the issue too,” he said.

BRS MLC and KCR’s daughter K Kavitha also urged the Centre to immediately halt the anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh and “seek a political resolution instead of armed confrontation”, saying “our party firmly believes that the ideology of Naxalism should be eradicated only through dialogue, not force”.

A former Telangana Congress MLA, on condition of anonymity, said the October 2004 talks between Maoists and the then YSR govt had failed as “Naxals wanted to continue their war against the State and use peace talks as a strategic timeout to regroup themselves, even as the state government, too, had its own game plan”.

“Back then, we understood that the Naxal support base’s ideological commitment was a small factor. Now such marginalised and exploited sections, who formed the support base of Naxals, are getting a better deal from the state or the Centre,” he said. “Whether to allow Naxals to carry arms was a point of discussion during the talks. How could that be allowed? We said they can hold public meetings but not carry arms. The ideology of securing power through the barrel of the gun is outdated. They are probably feeling the pressure now.”

Telangana Multi Zone 1 IGP S Chandrasekhar Reddy told The Indian Express that Telangana is currently devoid of any Naxal activities. “There is currently no Naxal movement in our state. More than 250 Naxals have surrendered before us this year. A majority of them are from Chhattisgarh. This is also because of our policy of extending financial support, and treating them with respect,” he said.

Maoist offer for talks

With the Centre claiming big gains in its fight against the Naxal insurgency, Maoists have purportedly proposed peace talks and a ceasefire.

Such Maoist overtures have come at a time when security forces’ relentless anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh, that began in 2024 and have so far led to the killing of at least 363 Maoists and the “squeezing” of the Maoist leadership to the Karregutta hills, seems to have reached a “climax”.

The eradication of Maoism has been a key thrust of the BJP-led government in both Chhattsgarh and at the Centre, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah having reiterated that Naxalism would be eliminated by March 31, 2026.

Chhattisgarh, especially its Bastar region, is now virtually the last remaining bastion of Maoism in the country.

AP govt, Naxal talks in 2004

One reason that the government and officials remain sceptical about the current Maoist offer is the failed October 2004 dialogue, which was facilitated by a civil society group, Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCC). The then CCC member Prof Haragopal is now also a member of the PTC that met CM Reddy. He said the 2004 talks was a “significant experiment due to the very fact that it indicated the radical groups and the Indian state could talk”.

“After 20 years, the relevance of that model is being realised now and we are again talking about peace talks,” Prof Haragopal told The Indian Express, adding that they are waiting for the Centre’s response. “If there is peace, then we can look at why these problems exist and what is the cause? We want peace because in Chhattisgarh, lots of innocent tribals are being killed,” he said.