New Delhi: Amidst back-to-back successful operations against red terror in Maoist stronghold of Bastar, several left parties have raised their objection to the security forces’ campaign against the leaders, members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
In a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi the leaders of as many as five left parties have demanded an immediate halt on the operations against Maoists alleging the recent encounters of extremists as extra judicial killings.
In the letter to the Prime Minister on June 9, the general secretaries of Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and the All India Forward Bloc have called for an “immediate halt” to the encounters under “Operation Kagar.”
The left leaders in the letter further alleged that a number of senior Maoist leaders are currently in the custody of security forces.
“There are several reports that several senior Maoist leaders are currently in the custody of the security forces. We demand that they should all be produced in court and dealt with as per the rule of law,” read the letter issued jointly by D Raja, MA Baby, Dipankar Bhattacharya, Manoj Bhattacharya and G Devarajan.
The left party leaders also raised concern over the militarisation of the Maoist-hit region claiming that the same has disrupted the normal life in the area.
“The Adivasis have long been complaining about the militarisation of the region, which has completely disrupted normal life,” claimed the leaders in the letter.
“The Adivasi rights enshrined in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution are being systematically violated and the forest and minerals of Chhattisgarh are being subjected to indiscriminate corporate exploitation with disastrous implications for environmental safety and livelihood of the local people. We urge upon you to stop this militaristic approach that treats the Adivasis with unmitigated hostility,” they added.
The left leaders also accused the government for not handing over the bodies of the Maoists neutralised in encounters to their family members. They further pointed out that despite repeated rquest the government has chosen not to pursue a solution through talks.
“The Maoists have repeatedly urged the government to consider their appeal for dialogue. Unfortunately, the union government and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)-led Chhattisgarh government have chosen not to pursue a solution through talks. Instead they are following an inhuman policy of killings and annihilation,” read the letter.
It further reads “the statements made by the Union Home Minister, reiterating the deadline and the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister’s (Vishnu Deo Sai) assertion that there is no need for talks, reflect a mindset unwilling to resolve issues through dialogue. The government should not be intransigent and celebrate the taking of human lives against the spirit of the law of the land and principles of democratic governance”.
Joint letter by #Left parties to PM #NarendraModi pic.twitter.com/KdncptZNpp
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) June 9, 2025
The letter in the end noted that “many concerned citizens and political parties, In spite of having differing views have already appealed to the government to respond to the Maoist declaration of unilateral ceasefire and initiate a dialogue to resolve all issues. We reiterate the appeal and urge upon you to stop the extra-judicial killings and violence with immediate effect and order an impartial judicial enquiry,” the letter added.
Appeal for peace talks with Maoists and opposition
It must be noted that several other political leaders and groups have expressed their views on the issue lately, appealing the government to engage in peace talks with the Maoists.
Reacting on the issue, B Mahesh Kumar Goud, head of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), has said that rather than taking tough measures, the government should deal legally with Maoists. He also asked the government to engage in “peace talks” with the Maoists.
Similar views were also expressed by leaders of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) who appealed the union government to start peace negotiations and demanded an early end to “Operation Kagar”.
Interacting with the media, BRS leader Kavitha had said, “Operation Kagar is being carried out in Chhattisgarh and our party, and we firmly believe that the ideology of Naxalism (Maoism) should be eradicated only through dialogue and not by the use of force… India must find a political solution to Naxalism.”
“I believe the central government should immediately call for a ceasefire, invite the Naxalites for talks, and I am very confident that every party in this country will support this cause,” she added.
Other than political leaders, groups like Peace Talks Committee have also appealed for dialogue with the proscribed terror outfit.
Meanwhile in contrast with appeal for peace negotiation, civilian group like Jan Sangharsh Samiti has cautioned the government for any such peace engagements with the Maoists.
In a letter to the Union Government the civil body has urged the government not to engage in any peace negotiation with Maoists until the latter surrender arms and render an apology for killings carried out by the group.
This comes after the Maoists via a series of press notes proposed for peace talks with riders such as removal of security forces from interiors of Bastar and immediate halt on the ongoing operations.
State government response to peace talks
Meanwhile the Chhattisgarh state government has clarified that while the state welcomes any individual or group of persons willing to surrender arms and join the mainstream, it will not entertain any certain riders for the proposed peace talks.
“If the Maoist wants a dialogue then they should come forward and inform that who will talk. They should commence the dialogue with states and join the mainstream. We have a clear mandate on this and both Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have pleaded to them (Maoists) to join the mainstream,” said Chhattisagrh deputy CM Vijay Sharma.
The deputy CM however questioned the silence of those who are appealing for a political solution to the issue. “A few people or a group is claiming certain things about peace talks, I want to ask who are they and where were they when 27 people were killed in Dharbandora or in Chingavanam or Manikonda? Where were they when Bastar Adivasis were killed in Errabor, when our political leaders were killed in Jheeram or when 76 jawans were killed in Tadmetala. They don’t speak up when people lose their lives or get handicapped for life due to IED blasts, how they have appeared suddenly” said Sharma.
#WATCH | Raipur, Chhattisgarh | BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao urged the Centre to have a dialogue with the Naxals and stop Operation Kagar.
Chhattisgarh Dy CM Vijay Sharma says, "… Who are these people and where were they when 27 people were killed in Dharbandora? Or in… pic.twitter.com/d3faZ9jp1q
— ANI (@ANI) April 30, 2025
It is worth mentioning here that of late the Union government has paced up its efforts towards achieving its goal of eradicating the red terror from the country before March next year.
The government recently announced that the number of districts most affected by Maoist-insurgency has reduced to only 12 in compare to 126 affected districts in 2014. Notably, security forces in 2024-25 have neutralised over 400 Maoists in separate anti-Maoist campaigns launched in areas marred by red terror. This includes recent operations at Karregutta hills along the Telangana border and in Abujhmad which led to the neutralisation of CPI (Maoist) general secretary, Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju in May 2025.
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