Surrendered Maoist Leader Devuji Demands Ban Removal and Recognition for CPI Maoist

• Surrendered Maoist leader Devuji demands ban removal on CPI Maoist.
• Devuji calls for recognition of CPI Maoist as political party.
• Surrendered Maoist leader Devuji also seeks release of jailed sympathisers.

A surrendered Maoist leader has sparked fresh debate after demanding that the ban on the CPI Maoist organisation be lifted and the group be recognised as a political party. Thippiri Tirupati also known as Devuji who recently surrendered before Telangana police made the remarks while speaking to media channels.

Devuji said the organisation should be treated as a political entity even though it does not intend to participate in electoral politics. According to him the Maoist movement has always been political in nature and therefore deserves legal recognition.

He explained that the group does not wish to follow the electoral path of contesting parliamentary or assembly elections. Devuji said that entering electoral politics would change the ideological direction of the organisation and therefore the movement prefers to remain outside the ballot based political system.

The surrendered leader also raised the issue of individuals arrested across the country on charges of being Maoist sympathisers. He urged governments to recognise them as political prisoners and release those jailed under the label of urban naxals.

Devuji revealed that he and several other surrendered Maoist leaders recently met Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and requested him to recommend lifting the ban on the organisation. The group also sought the Chief Minister support in raising the issue with the Union Home Ministry.

According to Devuji the Chief Minister had taken up the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. However he said he was not aware of the outcome of the discussions between the two leaders.

The former Maoist leader also said the organisation would be willing to dissolve its armed wing known as the People Liberation Guerrilla Army if both the central and state governments initiate steps to recognise the CPI Maoist as a legitimate political party.

Speaking about the long history of the Maoist movement Devuji said many people had lost their lives during the conflict. He stated that he and his colleagues plan to create programmes that support families of those who died during the struggle.

When asked about violence during Maoist operations he claimed that responsibility for such conflicts lies with the broader political system. According to him armed conflict emerged because the movement aimed to challenge what it viewed as an unjust system.

Devuji also criticised the term urban naxal saying that it has no clear definition in law and should not be used to label individuals.

Reflecting on social change he argued that inequality and exploitation still exist though they appear in different forms in the era of globalisation. He cited reports from organisations studying wealth distribution to claim that economic resources are increasingly concentrated among a small group of people.

The Maoist leader had spent more than four decades underground before surrendering to Telangana police on February twenty four. Along with him several other senior Maoist members including Malla Raji Reddy Bade Chokka Rao also known as Jagan and Nune Narasimha Reddy also known as Ganganna laid down their arms.

Devuji originally belongs to Korutla town in Jagtial district of Telangana. The son of a farmer he joined the People War group in nineteen eighty two and operated mainly in the forest regions of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra for several years before surrendering.

His recent statements have once again drawn attention to the long standing Maoist issue in India and the debate over whether political engagement could replace decades of armed conflict.