Nizamabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday firmly ruled out any negotiations with Maoist groups, urging them instead to surrender arms and integrate into democratic life. Addressing a rally in Nizamabad, Telangana, after inaugurating the National Headquarters of the Turmeric Board, Shah declared that the government will not hold talks with those continuing to bear weapons, asserting that the Centre’s policy was clear and uncompromising. He warned that unless they surrendered, the government was determined to eliminate the insurgency entirely by 31 March 2026.
“Congress keeps demanding talks with Maoists, but our policy is simple – no dialogue with anyone who holds a gun,” Shah said. “Give up arms, surrender, and join the mainstream. If you don’t, we are committed to ending naxalism from Indian soil within the next two years.”
He said the country had already witnessed the success of this strategy in the Northeast, where about 10,000 militants had given up their weapons in recent years. Many of them, he said, had gone on to contest local and state-level elections, becoming part of India’s democratic fabric. In the past 18 months alone, over 2,000 Maoists have surrendered, according to Shah.
The Home Minister also used the occasion to criticise Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for questioning the effectiveness of Operation Sindoor, the recent counter-terror mission that led to significant cross-border strikes. Pointing to what he described as Pakistan’s “weakened posture”, Shah said that Gandhi’s scepticism undermined national security efforts and ignored clear evidence of deterrence.
Reiterating the government’s stand, Shah called upon Maoist cadres to take advantage of existing surrender and rehabilitation policies. “This is your chance,” he said. “Return to your families, return to society. Or else, be ready for the consequences.”
Shah’s speech comes amid a wider political campaign in Telangana, where the BJP is seeking to consolidate support ahead of key elections. While the Home Minister focused on security issues, his messaging was also aimed at framing the BJP’s tough-on-terror image in contrast to what he described as the Congress’s “soft” approach to extremism.
