Surrendered Maoist Vasudeva Rao calls on underground cadres to give up arms

CPI (Maoist) Central Committee member Takkalapalli Vasudeva Rao alias Rupesh, who surrendered to police in Chhattisgarh, urged his comrades to give up arms. The 61-year-old leader from Mulug district said he now prioritises peace and rehabilitation over armed struggle

Kothagudem: CPI (Maoist) Central Committee member Takkalapalli Vasudeva Rao alias Rupesh, who surrendered to the police in Chhattisgarh on Friday, has called on his underground comrades to give up arms.

After coming out of Maoist shelters in the forests on Thursday and before visiting Jagdalpur to lay down his weapons, he said many of his party colleagues had raised objections to his decision to surrender, as they wanted to continue the Maoist armed struggle.

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Rupesh said several of his colleagues in other States were unaware of his decision to give up arms and appealed to them to understand the circumstances under which he had taken the decision. He said he was worried about the safety of his colleagues.

He said, “The first priority for us is to live and then think about what could be done in the future by availing the opportunities.” If any underground cadre wanted to join the mainstream, they could contact him at his mobile number 6267138163, he added.

Vasudeva Rao hails from Narsingapur in Venkatapur mandal of Mulug district. He studied at Lakshmidevipet Government School in the mandal from Class 1 to Class 5, and later pursued his secondary education at Fatima School in Kazipet.

He was attracted to the People’s War movement four decades ago and went underground at 25 years of age. Initially, he led the Radical Students Union (RSU), an affiliate of the Kakatiya University CPI (ML) People’s War. A case was registered against Vasudeva Rao at Venkatapur police station 38 years ago, even before he went underground.

According to locals, his father Bhikshapathi Rao died a few years ago due to health problems, while his mother Sarojana lives with his brother Sahadeva Rao, who resides at Gopalpur in Hanamkonda.