The banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) has announced a temporary suspension of its armed conflict to facilitate peace negotiations with the government, but also demanded that the government formally halt all security operations for a month. The Maoists issued a statement on social media Tuesday, asking the government to announce its decision through government news channels, including the internet and radio.
The Maoist organization offered peace talks to the government, but despite this, the government has continued to arrest and take action against them, detaining thousands of activists and cracking down on movement leaders.
In May 2025, 28 prominent Maoists were captured, including the General Secretary. The two-page statement, released on August 15 by Abhay, the spokesperson for the Maoist Central Committee, was issued about four months after the death of Nambala Keshav Rao, also known as Basavaraju, the General Secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), in an encounter with security forces in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on May 21.
Regarding the statement, state Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma stated that the authenticity of the statement is being checked, and the best course of action for the Maoists is to surrender and take advantage of rehabilitation. Sharma, who also oversees the Home Department, said the term ‘ceasefire’ is highly inappropriate because there is no war-like situation to justify it. He added that in a democracy, discussions can’t be conditional; nonetheless, they have proposed conditions again.
Sharma said that discussions will take place within the government once the statement is confirmed. The Maoists said in the statement that they had previously suggested a ceasefire to the government and requested a month to confer with the leadership of the organization. However, they were disappointed that the central government did not respond positively but rather intensified operations.
The Maoists’ statement said that “To advance the peace talks process initiated on the initiative of our party’s esteemed General Secretary (Basavaraju, who was killed in the encounter), we are clarifying that, considering the changing world and country conditions, apart from the requests being made by the Prime Minister and Home Minister of the country to senior police officials to leave arms and join the mainstream, we have decided to lay down arms. We have decided to temporarily halt the armed struggle.”
The statement also said they are ready to discuss the matter with the government via video calls. “Therefore, we are once again clarifying that the government should proceed with the peace talks process by formally declaring a ceasefire for a month and stopping search operations,” the statement added, and also mentioned that its release was delayed for several reasons.
Inspector General of Police of the Bastar region, Sundarraj P, responded to the statement by saying that the police have taken note of a press release issued by the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee regarding the possibility of laying down arms and peace talks. He said the release’s authenticity is being verified and its contents are being carefully examined. He further added that any decision on talks or contact with the CPI (Maoist) is entirely the government’s, which will be made after proper consideration of the situation and circumstances.
