Hyderabad, March 14, 2026
Top Maoist leader Devuji, also known as Thippiri Tirupati, who recently surfaced from underground and joined the mainstream, has appealed to the government to seek the lifting of the ban on the Communist Party of India (Maoist), saying the organisation is willing to function legally and disband its armed wing if it is allowed political space.
Thippiri Tirupati alias Devuji spent 44 years underground and served as a Politburo and Central Committee member as well as the head of the Central Military Commission of the banned CPI (Maoist).
Following the Central government’s announcement setting a deadline of March 31 to eliminate Maoism, Devuji and several others surrendered last month.
In an exclusive interview with IANS, he spoke about the ongoing anti-Maoist operations, the possibility of peace talks and the future of the movement.
Responding to a question about Operation KAGAR and whether the encounters linked to the operation were genuine, as some Left-wing organisations have questioned, Devuji claimed that most of them were not genuine.
“The encounters are mostly fake,” he said.
He also said that the Congress-led government in Telangana appeared “relatively soft” compared to previous administrations and had taken what he described as a “positive step” towards preventing further bloodshed linked to Operation KAGAR.
When asked about the Central government’s deadline of March 31 to end Left-wing extremism, Devuji said the decades-long insurgency could come to an end if the government lifted the ban on the Maoist party and allowed it to function openly in the political arena.
“Several local civil society organisations, public groups, and activist organisations have been demanding for days that operations be stopped, encounters be halted, and Maoists be engaged in dialogue rather than targeted. Sometimes these demands have been expressed in the streets or through movements,” he said.
“We are willing to hold peace talks. We have said it several times that we are ready for talks. Why is there a need for bloodshed?” he asked.
Devuji also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to halt Operation KAGAR and prevent further violence.
He said, “Stop Operation KAGAR and stop the bloodshed. We are also willing to hold talks and lay out our demands.”
Speaking about his decision to come out of hiding, Devuji said he now intends to work among people in the open rather than remain in hiding.
“I was in hiding for several years; now I am in public light and work for people,” he said.
When asked whether Maoism could be eliminated by the end of the month, as suggested by the government’s deadline, Devuji said the ideology itself cannot be erased simply by ending armed struggle.
“Maoism is an ideology. It’s universal. It’s not like Maoism will end if the arms are laid down. An ideology cannot be linked to the weapons,” he said.
Devuji also revealed that he recently met Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and raised several demands, including lifting the ban on the Maoist organisation, recognising it as a “political party”, designating jailed Maoist leaders and activists as “political prisoners” and their release, and providing support to families of those who died in the movement.
“The Chief Minister told us that this issue is not limited to the State and only the Centre can take decisions in such matters. I urged him to talk to Home Minister Amit Shah and discuss our issues,” Devuji said.
He also clarified that he and others do not intend to pursue electoral positions or support any particular political party.
“We do not wish to join any political party or support any leader or become an MLA or MP; however, we do wish to work for people,” he said.(Agency)
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