TPCC chief to take up ceasefire appeal with State government; Peace Talks Committee slams Centre for not announcing ceasefire 

TPCC president to discuss ceasefire with CPI (Maoist) with CM and high-level committee, criticizes Modi government's handling of Maoist issue.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud has said that he will bring the Peace Talks Committee’s appeal for a ceasefire with the CPI (Maoist) to the notice of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, besides discussing it completely in the party’s high-level committee, to explore the possibility of announcing a ceasefire in the State.

Addressing a roundtable conference organised by the Peace Talks Committee at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram here on Sunday, Mr. Mahesh slammed the Modi-led Central government for its handling of the Maoist issue and Operation Kagar at Karreguttalu. He accused the Centre of aiming to eliminate Naxalites to hand over mineral wealth in Chhattisgarh and other States to corporate companies.

The Congress leader also criticised the Modi government for its ‘fascist rule’, saying it is willing to hold talks with terrorists but not with those who sacrificed their lives to address social inequalities. Stating that any democratically-elected government must act following the Constitution, he questioned why the Centre is not willing to hold talks with Maoists, who are Indian citizens, while offering a ceasefire with Pakistan.

Referring to the Congress’s ideology, he remembered that their party was built on the foundations of non-violence. He, however, condemned violence from all sides and stated that Naxalism was born out of economic inequalities.

Expressing similar views, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC Dasoju Sravan Kumar, representing the party at the conference, emphasised his party’s commitment to peace, dialogue and democratic values. He recalled that former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, during a public meeting in Warangal, had called for an immediate end to Operation Kagar and urged the Central government to hold peace talks. Mr. Sravan suggested that people resort to arms when they lack a platform to raise their grievances and stressed the need for effective platforms for people to express their grievances.

Peace Talks Committee convener Justice Chandrakumar, members Prof. Haragopal, Prof. Anwar Khan and others urged the Centre to hold talks with the Maoists immediately.