Hyderabad: One of the senior-most former Maoist leaders, who recently surfaced after spending several years underground, has urged the Telangana govt to push for lifting the ban on the CPI (Maoist), saying the party is willing to function within the legal framework and disband its armed wing if given political space.Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devji made the appeal while outlining what he described as a shift from armed struggle to open political engagement. Speaking to TOI, he said the demand to lift the ban on the Maoist party formed the core of the proposals submitted to chief minister A Revanth Reddy during a recent meeting.“In our meeting with the CM on Feb 27, we asked for lifting the ban on our party. We also asked him to recommend this to Union home minister Amit Shah. When we say we will work legally, automatically PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerilla Army) will not exist,” Devji claimed.Devji said the CM responded positively but clarified that the ban on the Maoist party fell under the jurisdiction of the Centre.‘Not dissolving party’He also clarified that the proposal was not to dissolve the Maoist party but only its armed wing. “Dissolving the military wing is different from dissolving the party,” he said.Along with lifting the ban, Devji also sought the release of jailed Maoist leaders, activists and sympathisers, arguing that they should be recognised as ‘political prisoners’. He called for an end to what he described as harassment under the label of ‘Urban Naxal’. He said people involved in the movement, members of public organisations, militia members and party functionaries jailed under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) should also be released.“If you tell people to give up weapons and join the mainstream but then brand them ‘Urban Naxals’ and lock them up again, it will disturb the peace. This will test whether the govt’s promise is honest,” he said.Responding to reports that he had sought Rs 1 crore and five acres of land for surrendered Maoists, Devji said the demand was not part of the official agenda. “In the final moment, it was asked out of haste. That was our mistake,” he said.‘Was arrested by Telangana cops’Devji also rejected suggestions that he had ‘surrendered’, saying his move should instead be seen as a transition to open political work. He claimed he was arrested by Telangana police while relocating to coordinate party affairs during ‘Operation Kagar’. “Some truly surrendered, some inevitably. Others like us wanted to come into public life. We have a responsibility to coordinate with them,” he said.According to him, the movement still retains a broad social base despite the shrinking presence of armed cadres. “Although the physical cadre visible might be limited, there are millions of people. If we reach out to the people with a political programme, the movement will recover,” he said.He said political and organisational work required public engagement. “To organise the people, one must be in public life. This is why I had decided to come out,” he said.Drawing a distinction between abandoning armed struggle and giving up ideology, Devji maintained that his political beliefs remain unchanged. “If I limited myself to a personal life and left political life, that would be a surrender. If I rejected Marxism-Maoism, that would be a surrender. But we still think based on Marxist-Maoist theory,” he said.At the same time, he dismissed claims that the Maoists were planning to enter electoral politics. “This has been distorted to say we will contest as MLAs or MPs. In our language, those are parliamentary politics. We are non-parliamentary — meaning outside Parliament and assembly. We want to be among the people and work within the legal framework,” he said.‘Temporary defeat’Asked whether he could return to militancy, Devji said, “Once we give our word to work in a legal framework, we will stick to it,” he said.Devji argued that while the movement may currently appear weakened, the social conditions that gave rise to it still persist. “Our movement temporarily suffered a defeat. However, the physical causes — land issues, exploitation, insults and atrocities — still exist,” he said.He linked the movement’s continued relevance to issues such as poverty, caste dignity and environmental protection. “As long as poverty and self-respect issues, especially for SCs, STs and BCs, exist, millions who follow us believe the Maoist party will lead them,” he added.
