The banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) has announced a temporary suspension of its armed struggle to facilitate peace talks, but simultaneously requested that the government formally halt security operations for a month. In an alleged statement circulated on social media on Tuesday, the Maoists also appealed to the government to share its decision on this matter through government news media, including the internet and radio.
The Maoist organization offered peace talks with the government. Despite the initiative for talks, the government intensified arrests and actions, and thousands of activists were detained. Crackdowns on the leaders of the movement are also underway.
In May 2025, 28 prominent Maoists, including the general secretary, were captured. The two-page statement, issued on August 15, by the spokesperson of the Maoist Central Committee, Abhay, came nearly four months after the killing of the banned CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju in an encounter with security forces in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on May 21.
Regarding the statement, Deputy Chief Minister of the state Vijay Sharma said that the authenticity of the statement is being investigated, and the best way for the Maoists is to surrender and avail of rehabilitation benefits. Vijay Sharma also holds the Home Department. Sharma said that the term ‘ceasefire’ is highly objectionable because there is no situation like war that would necessitate it. In a democracy, talks cannot be conditional; nevertheless, they have once again laid down preconditions.
He said that after the statement is confirmed, discussions will be held within the government. In the statement, the Maoists said that they had previously proposed a ceasefire to the government and sought a month’s time to consult with the top leadership of the organization. However, unfortunately, the central government did not show a favorable attitude towards this, but rather intensified its activities.
The Maoists said in their alleged statement, “In order to take forward the peace talks process initiated on the initiative of our party’s esteemed General Secretary (Basavaraju, who was killed in the encounter), we are clarifying that, considering the changing world and country conditions, apart from the requests being made by the Prime Minister and Home Minister of the country to senior police officers to leave arms and join the mainstream, we have decided to lay down arms. We have decided to temporarily halt the armed struggle.”
The alleged statement also stated, “We are also ready to exchange ideas with the government on this subject primarily through video calls. Therefore, we are once again clarifying that the government should proceed with the peace talks process by formally declaring a ceasefire for a month and stopping search operations.” The statement also said that it was issued late for several reasons.
Reacting to the statement, Inspector General of Police of the Bastar region, Sundarraj P, said that the police have taken cognizance of a press release issued by the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee regarding the possibility of laying down arms and peace talks. He said that the authenticity of the release is being confirmed, and its contents are being carefully examined. He further added that any decision on talks or contact with the CPI (Maoist) is entirely the government’s, which will be taken after proper consideration and assessment of the situation and circumstances.