Karimnagar: Union minister of state for home Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and BRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao for calling for a halt to Operation Kagar and suggesting talks with Maoists during the “Naxals Naramedham–Medho Madhanam” event organised by the ABVP in Karimnagar on Saturday.
He questioned what the Congress had achieved from its past talks with Naxals and accused Chandrashekar Rao of advocating for dialogue only after losing power, despite having banned Naxal groups during his decade-long tenure as Chief Minister.
Sanjay Kumar dismissed any possibility of stopping Operation Kagar, affirming that the programme was designed to eliminate Naxals and will continue. He asserted that the Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, is determined to create a “Naxal-free India” by March 2026.
He also condemned civil and human rights organisations that portray Naxalism as a social issue, questioning why they ignored the social dimension when Naxals killed thousands of innocent people and nearly 9,000 police personnel.
Highlighting the impact of Naxalism, he said it has caused immense destruction of infrastructure, stalled development, and eroded public faith in democratic values. He pointed out that Naxalites have brought more poverty and violence to the very areas they claim to help, for example, Chhattisgarh, where Naxalism has contributed to extreme poverty.
The minister challenged those calling for talks with Naxals, asking what past decades of dialogue had achieved. In a democracy, he said, only one group should hold weapons, the police, who use them to protect the public. The government, he asserted, will not stand by while Naxals kill people with bullets and will continue its efforts to eliminate them.
