Niranjan Reddy urges Centre to halt Operation Kagar, initiate talks with Maoists

BRS leader Niranjan Reddy warns Centre against military suppression under Operation Kagar, urging dialogue with Maoists to preserve democratic values and prevent public backlash

Hyderabad: Former Minister and BRS senior leader S Niranjan Reddy urged the Central government to stop Operation Kagar and initiate peace talks with the Maoists. He cautioned that continued military suppression could destabilise democratic values and trigger public outrage.

Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Niranjan Reddy slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre for prioritising corporate interests over the welfare of the common man. He said the Centre could not act with arrogance, wield power without responsibility, and ignore voices calling for peace.

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“Shooting our own citizens cannot be the solution. Talks are the only way forward,” he asserted, citing BRS supremo K Chandrashekhar Rao’s appeal in Warangal to halt combing operations and initiate dialogue with the Maoists.

The former Minister criticised the Centre’s plan to eliminate Maoists by 2026, calling it flawed and dangerous. “You cannot eradicate ideas by eliminating individuals,” he said, adding that around 22 student unions and several public organisations had been urging for negotiations.

Drawing parallels with the prolonged farmers’ protest against the three contentious laws near Delhi, he said the government ignored the farmers’ pleas and only responded after the deaths of 700 farmers, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi eventually issued an apology.

“Let us not repeat the same mistake with Operation Kagar,” he added.

Citing Telangana’s experience, Niranjan Reddy said the BRS government had addressed Maoist issues through development. “No encounters took place during our 10-year rule. We treated it as a socio-economic issue. Irrigation, employment, and development made Maoism irrelevant here,” he remarked.

Criticising both the BJP and Congress, he said people’s problems remained unresolved, leading to unrest. He warned that suppressing dissent would only alienate the public further. He also urged Maoists to introspect, stating that armed struggles had not succeeded anywhere in the modern era.

“Let us aim to build a stronger, more equitable India together,” he concluded.