New Delhi: A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah ruled out ceasefire with Maoists, CPI general secretary D Raja on Monday questioned the decision, pointing to the Naxals’ offer of holding a dialogue with the government.
“Maoists want dialogue with the government. They have proposed a ceasefire… Why the Indian government cannot accept?” Raja said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday rejected the ceasefire offer given by Maoists, saying if the extremists want to surrender and lay down arms, they are most welcome to do so, and that security forces would not fire a single bullet at them.
Security forces have intensified operations along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, eliminating several top Naxals as part of Operation Kagar (also called Operation Black Forest).
Addressing a press conference here, Raja said, “What is this Operation Kagar? Can the government tell us how many Maoists were killed, how many tribal people were killed? Chhattisgarh is a forest-rich state and tendu leaves are supposed to be green gold,” he said.
“This government is trying to evict the tribal people from forests, lands, and they want to hand over these forest lands to people like Adani… Seaports, airports are all handed over to Adani… Now forests will be handed over to Adani. Then what remains? What India are we today? This is a democratic republic?” he said.
Asked about the home minister’s charge that Left parties have lent ideological support to Left Wing Extremism, he said, “I don’t know what he means by that. Let him explain….”
“Urban Naxalites or rural Naxalites are challenging the policies of the government of the day. But what about right-wing extremists? They want to redefine Indian nationhood… They want to rewrite Indian history. Which is dangerous?” he questioned.
“They want to redefine India. India is a secular, democratic republic. It cannot be redefined as a theocratic nation. They cannot rewrite Indian history. Who is dangerous? Amit Shah is the home minister. He must speak responsibly,” he said.
On the government’s statement that it was creating a “Naxal-free India”, the CPI leader said, “What happened to Congress-Mukt Bharat? Tomorrow they will say Communist-Mukt Bharat.… We have a Constitution and they should understand, the Constitution is clear; India is a secular democratic republic.”
Addressing the valedictory session of a seminar on ‘Naxal Mukt Bharat’, Shah on Sunday said there will be no ceasefire with Maoists.
He said if the Naxals want to surrender, a red carpet welcome awaits them with a “lucrative” rehabilitation policy.
Shah also hit out at Left parties for extending ideological support to the Left Wing Extremism and dismissed their arguments that lack of development led to the Maoist violence.
Operation Kagar is a large-scale counter-insurgency initiative launched by the Indian government to combat the Maoist (Naxalite) insurgency, primarily in the states of Chhattisgarh and Telangana. The operation began in 2024, with the goal of eradicating Maoist influence by March 2026.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Marziya Sharif | 
