'Inhuman policy of killing': Left parties ask PM Modi to stop anti-Maoist operation in joint letter

New Delhi: Five Left parties on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately halt the “extra-judicial killings” in the name of anti-Maoist Operation Kagar, order an impartial judicial inquiry and open dialogue with the Naxals by accepting ultras’ unilateral ceasefire offer.

In a joint letter to Modi, they urged the PM to stop the “militaristic approach” that treats the Adivasis with “unmitigated hostility”. They said Home Minister Amit Shah’s repeated assertion of the March 31, 2026 deadline to end Naxalism and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Sai Deo’s remarks that there was no need for talks “reflect a mindset unwilling” to resolve issues through dialogue.

“The Adivasis have long been complaining about the militarisation of the region, which has completely disrupted normal life,” General Secretaries MA Baby (CPI-M), D Raja (CPI), Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-MLL), Manoj Bhattacharya (RSP) and G Devarajan (Forward Bloc) said in their joint letter.

The leaders said tribal rights enshrined in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution were being “systematically violated”. The forests and minerals in Chhattisgarh were being subjected to “indiscriminate corporate exploitation with disastrous implications” for environmental stability and livelihood of local people, they said.

They also did not approve of the “hostility that is being seen even after death” as the government refused to hand over bodies to their families, “denying them their right to give a dignified farewell to their family members”. They also referred to reports about Naxal leaders already in the custody of security forces and said they should be produced before the court.

“The Maoists have repeatedly urged the government to consider their (Maoists) appeal for dialogue. Unfortunately, the Union government and the BJP-led Chhattisgarh government have chosen not to pursue a solution through talks. Instead, they are following an inhuman policy of killings and annihilation,” the leaders said.

“The government should not be intransigent and celebrate the taking of human lives against the spirit of the law of the land and principles of democratic governance,” they said.

Irrespective of having differing views, they said, many concerned citizens and parties have appealed to the government to respond to the Maoist declaration of a unilateral ceasefire and initiate a dialogue to resolve all issues.

“We reiterate the appeal and urge upon you to stop the extra-judicial killings and violence with immediate effect and order an impartial judicial enquiry,” they said in the letter to the Prime Minister.