'Followed Basavaraj's call': Naxal leader Rupesh on laying down arms; rejects 'traitor' tag;

NEW DELHI:Rejecting the CPI(Maoist) central committee’s (CC) “traitor” tag thrown at him at fellow Naxal leader Bhupathi alias ‘Sonu’ in view of their recent surrender, CC member Rupesh has said that they had laid down arms in line with the slain general secretary Basavaraj’s final call to ‘partymen’ to cease armed operations against the security forces and explore talks with the Centre.

In a video statement shared with TOI, Rupesh – who is currently in Chhattisgarh – can be heard rejecting the CPI(Maoist) latest claim that Basavaraju had had a rethink on his stance favouring a ceasefire “to save the party, cadres and movement” -- communicated in multiple statements since March 2025 -- after the Centre had refrained from toning down anti-Naxal operations in ‘core’ areas of Maoists.



He said that Basavaraj had instead, taking a pragmatic line in a letter sent to all politburo (PB)/CC members and a separate communication dispatched to Rupesh days before he was neutralised in an encounter, allowed cadres to retaliate with arms when cornered by the forces, while maintaining that ceasefire and talks were the only way forward. Basavaraj did leave it to the CC core committee to take a final decision in this regard – time was, in fact, sought from the govt to get the scattered CC members together for a meeting – but the top leader was killed in an encounter with the forces before this could fructify.

“It is true that till B R Dada (Basavaraj) was killed in May, he maintained the view that conditions are ideal for abandoning armed struggle and starting talks with to the govt about our future,” Rupesh said, saying that every PB/CC member had received this message. “I had personally met Devji (current CPI Maoist general secretary) and another CC member after that,” he said but added that Devji was not in favour of ceasefire and talks.

“Why is it that when a meeting of Dandakaranya Special Zonal committee (DKSZC) was held recently in south Bastar, the surrender plan of north sub-zonal bureau, though known to the leaders, was never brought up? Why is it that Basavaraj’s final letter to the PB/CC members has not been shown to the cadres?” Rupesh asked. This, a Chhattisgarh police officer indicated, suggests that Devji and CC members Sangram and Hidma, along with senior cadres Barse Deve and Pappa Rao, have failed to communicate the collective decision of the CPI(Maoist), taken under Basavaraj, to end armed struggle, to the lower ranks.

Rupesh said the letter sent to him by Basavaraj, ruling out any ideological compromise behind the ceasefire, was shared by him and deliberated upon by cadres of the north sub-zonal bureau of the DKSZC, who passed it down to the divisional committee and area committee members. “It was a collective and conscious decision made by all of us to shun violence and return to the mainstream,” he said, adding that many of south sub-zonal committee cadres may also be wanting to follow suit.

Rupesh said Vijay and Lokesh, two DKSZC leaders killed recently, had also favoured a ceasefire. Bhupathi initially opposed it but came around, he added.

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