Two senior leaders of the banned CPI-Maoist, one of them a central committee member who had been underground for more than four decades, surrendered before the police on Tuesday.
Telangana director general of police B Shivadhar Reddy told reporters in Hyderabad that P Prasad Rao (64), alias Chandranna, a central committee member who had been underground for 45 years, and Bandi Prakash, alias Prabhath of the Telangana State Committee, who had been underground for 42 years, have left the Communist Party of India-Maoist and joined the mainstream.
Prasad, a native of Peddapally district, joined the Radical Students Union in 1979 while pursuing his intermediate education.
Prakash, from Mancherial district, joined the Radical Youth League of the CPI-ML People's War in 1983.
He was most recently in charge of the Telangana state committee press team and issued press statements under the name Prabhath, the police said.
Their surrender follows Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's October 21 appeal to CPI-Maoist members to give up arms, join the mainstream, and participate in the state's development and welfare initiatives, the DGP said.
The two leaders cited deteriorating health, sustained pressure from security forces, ideological differences, and internal rifts within the CPI-Maoist leadership as reasons for quitting the organisation, the police said.
"The return of two senior-most Maoist leaders to the mainstream is a moral victory for the holistic and comprehensive policy adopted by the Telangana Police against the CPI-Maoist," DGP Reddy said.
So far this year, 427 underground cadres, including two Central Committee Members and eight State Committee Members, have surrendered before the Telangana police, he said.
"This marks a significant victory for the Telangana Police in their efforts against the CPI-Maoist," he added.
As of now, 64 underground cadres of the CPI-Maoist are natives of Telangana, nine of them are part of the Telangana state committee, while the rest are operating in other states, including Chhattisgarh, the DGP said.
He added that five of the CPI-Maoist's nine central committee members hail from Telangana.
Prasad carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh, and Prakash Rs 20 lakh. The amounts were handed over to them through demand drafts, and they will receive additional benefits under the Telangana government's rehabilitation policy for surrendered cadres.
DGP Reddy once again appealed to all underground Maoist cadres from Telangana to return to their native villages, reunite with their families, and reintegrate into society.
He urged them to "contribute to the progress and development of Telangana through constructive participation."
The DGP assured that all underground CPI-Maoist cadres who choose to surrender will receive full support, protection, and assistance under the Telangana government's comprehensive rehabilitation and reintegration programme, enabling them to rebuild their lives in a peaceful, dignified, and meaningful manner.
Meanwhile, Prasad told reporters that he and Prakash left the Maoist organisation due to health issues and in response to the chief minister's appeal to CPI-Maoist underground cadres to return to the mainstream, in view of the prevailing situation arising out of Operation 'Kagar'.
"We are joining the mainstream, and it's not a surrender," he said.
Prasad added he would continue to work for the people of Telangana and asserted that the Maoist ideology had not been "defeated."
According to him, Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji, also from Telangana, has taken over as the CPI-Maoist general secretary following the death of Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, who was killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh on May 21.
He said he supports Devuji and not senior Naxalite Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi alias Sonu, who, along with 60 other cadres, surrendered before police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district recently.
Venugopal, a native of Telangana and a member of the CPI-Maoist central committee and politburo, had called for "temporarily renouncing armed struggle."
Amid divisions within the CPI-Maoist, with one section favouring laying down arms and another supporting continued armed struggle, Prasad said there was a "split and that both leaders and cadres had chosen their respective paths.
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