"We don’t want anybody to kill anyone in the name of an ideology or duty, because every life is valuable, and every person is important to their family members. Above all, Gandhi ji has shown we can achieve anything with peace," said Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. He was addressing a press conference at the Telangana Integrated Command and Control Centre in Hyderabad on Saturday, marking the surrender of 130 leaders and members of CPI (Maoist) along with 124 weapons.
“We are ready to give them their cash rewards, houses and all other benefits and ensure that the mainstreamed Maoists could lead a dignified life,” the chief minister reiterated. The government will soon make a decision on a financial rehabilitation package, he said. The CM also proposed to constitute a committee to review the cases against the Maoists and withdraw them to the possible extent. “The judiciary won’t allow us to withdraw all the cases. We will sincerely consider the possibilities and try to give legal reprieve,” he explained.
He invited CPI (Maoist) former secretary Muppala Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy to join the mainstream. He appealed to Ganapathy, saying, “I am told your health is not in great condition. We will take care of you. Please come and join us.” Appealing to the other holding out Maoist leaders, including central committee members, to surrender, Reddy said they should join the mainstream and take part in the reconstruction of Telangana.
Vijay Kumar, state intelligence chief, described the chief minister’s call to ensure peaceful surrenders in his speech on Police Martyrs’ Day on November 26 as the cornerstone of the police approach. The Revanth Reddy government has reaped the benefits of a surrender policy that preferred life and persuasion over killings and encounters.
Most significantly, out of the 130 Maoists, 125 are from Chhattisgarh, and most of them are young women. Scribes pointedly asked the CM, DGP and other officials if the surrendering Maoists were preferring Telangana over Chhattisgarh due to the fear of encounters. Though the CM and the police officials refused to draw any comparison between the states, the intelligence officials indicated that Chhattisgarh has become the least preferred choice due to fear of possible police retribution.
The surrendered members included leaders and cadres from the first battalion of People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and personal staff of central committee members. The First Battalion was led by Devuji, the recently surrendered leader who was supposed to become the party’s general secretary. Addressing the conference, Telangana Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy said the Maoists have lost the PLGA, the most important of its three “Magic Weapons”. He appreciated the work of the intelligence wing and the Special Intelligence Bureau for playing a key role in the surrender.
Referring to proposals submitted by surrendered Maoist leaders such as Devji and Damodar on converting the Maoist party into a legal entity, the chief minister said he had brought the matter to the attention of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Addressing the Maoists, the chief minister stressed that democratic means were the only durable solutions. “The ballot is more powerful than the bullet to solve problems. India strongly believes that challenges must be addressed through peaceful and democratic means,” he said, adding that violence cannot be a solution to every issue. Be it the LTTE or any other violent movements, most of them had a sad ending. So, we better not go down that path, he added.
A scribe who specialised in Maoist party reporting told THE WEEK that, “Devuji and other senior leaders surrendered in Telangana due to the safety of life offered to them by Telangana police. He could have been killed in Chhattisgarh.” THE WEEK could not verify this claim independently.