Union Home Minister Amit Shah called the operation a “landmark achievement”, as part of the Centre’s commitment to eliminating “Naxalism” by 31 March 2026.
Published May 22, 2025 | 5:07 PM ⚊ Updated May 22, 2025 | 5:07 PM
The party criticised Shah’s remarks while announcing the killings as emblematic of a “fascistic mindset”.
Synopsis: The CPI(M) has condemned the killing of 27 Maoists in Chhattisgarh, including senior leader Nambala Keshava Rao, accusing the government of following a “policy of annihilation” instead of seeking dialogue. The party said comments by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the state’s Chief Minister reflected a “fascistic mindset” that glorified violence. It urged the government to stop paramilitary operations and respond to calls for talks.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has accused the Union government of deliberately avoiding dialogue with Maoists and instead pursuing a “policy of killings and annihilation”, a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the killing of at least 27 Maoist cadres, including senior leader Nambala Keshava Rao, also known as Basavaraj, in an alleged encounter in the Abujhmad forests of Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh.
“The Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly condemns the encounter of 27 Maoists, including their General Secretary Nambala Keshava Rao, in Chhattisgarh. Ignoring repeated appeals from the Maoists for talks, the central government and the BJP-led Chhattisgarh state government have chosen not to pursue a solution through dialogue. Instead, they are following an inhuman policy of killings and annihilation,” the party said in a statement released on Thursday, 22 May.
Furthermore, it criticised Shah’s remarks while announcing the killings and those of Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister as emblematic of a “fascistic mindset”.
“The statements made by the Union Home Minister, reiterating the deadline and the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh’s statement that there is no need for talks, reflect a fascistic mindset that appears to celebrate the taking of human lives and are against democracy,” the statement read.
“Many political parties and concerned citizens have appealed to the government to consider the request for dialogue. In spite of our opposition to Maoists’ politics, we urge the government to immediately accept their request for talks and halt all paramilitary operations.”
On Wednesday, CPI General Secretary D Raja similarly condemned the “cold-blooded killings” and accused the state of bypassing constitutional safeguards and engaging in extrajudicial actions that disproportionately affect Adivasi communities.
Basavaraj, 71, was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), the banned left-wing insurgent group that has operated across large parts of central India for over four decades.
The encounter reportedly took place between the Maoists’ Company-7 unit and the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a specialised force raised by the Chhattisgarh police. The gun battle occurred in the dense forests near Maad, a known Maoist stronghold straddling the Narayanpur and Bijapur districts.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah called the operation a “landmark achievement”, as part of the Centre’s commitment to eliminating “Naxalism” by 31 March 2026.
Since early April, as part of Operation Kagar, a prolonged and expansive counterinsurgency campaign, the Centre has “neutralised” over 50 Maoists, including a previously reported 31 Maoists, among them 16 women, in the Karreguttalu Hills along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.
That operation involved joint action by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Task Force (STF), DRG, and state police units, and was presented as a decisive shift in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s battle against left-wing extremism.
Yet, activists and political parties like the CPI and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have consistently raised concerns about civilian deaths, lack of transparency, and the targeting of tribal populations.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
