Surrendered Maoist Leader Bhupathi Urges Cadres To Leave Armed Struggle

Surrendered Maoist leader Mallojula Venugopal Rao, also known as Bhupathi, on Wednesday once again appealed to members of the banned CPI (Maoist) to abandon armed conflict and integrate into mainstream society.

Bhupathi, who previously served as the spokesperson for the outlawed organization, made the appeal a day after the death of Madvi Hidma, a senior Naxalite commander, during an encounter in Andhra Pradesh.

A video of Bhupathi’s message was released by Gadchiroli Police. Bhupathi, who had surrendered on October 15 along with 60 cadres, referred to the recent encounters in his address.

“We have been getting news of encounters for the last few days,” he said, citing the death of Hidma and five others on Tuesday.

“This is a very worrisome issue. I want to tell you that we left armed struggle about one and a half months ago. Because we realised that in the changing situation, we cannot wage an armed struggle again. We are now working to solve the people's problems as per the Constitution,” Bhupathi added.

Highlighting the heavy losses the Naxalite movement has faced, he stressed that, given the current circumstances, “rather than fighting with arms we should leave armed struggle and join the mainstream and work alongside the people.”

Bhupathi, who has issued similar appeals in the past, urged cadres to seriously consider his message. “You should join the mainstream and work with the common people as per the Constitution of India,” he said, also sharing his phone number for those willing to reach out.

With PTI inputs