Bhupathi's surrender 'beginning of the end of Naxal movement' in Maharashtra: Fadnavis

Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) | The surrender of senior Naxalite Bhupathi and 60 other cadres is the "beginning of the end of the Naxal movement" in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday.

In the coming days, the entire "red corridor" in Chhattisgarh, Telangana will be free of Naxalism, Fadnavis said, adding that Gadchiroli in Maharashtra was leading the fight against the outlawed CPI (Maoist).

The CM was addressing a gathering after senior Naxalite Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi surrendered before him along with 60 other cadres in Gadchiroli district.

Bhupathi carried a bounty of Rs 6 crore, an official said.

The Naxalites surrendered along with their 54 weapons, which include seven AK-47s and nine INSAS rifles, the official said.

Bhupathi alias Sonu was considered one of the most influential strategists in the Maoist organisation and had long supervised platoon operations along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border.

Fadnavis said there are a handful of Naxalites remaining and they, too, should surrender or face police action.

He expressed satisfaction that Gadchiroli was leading the fight against Naxalism in the country.

The surrender of Bhupathi, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 6 crore and raised the Naxal movement at Aheri and Sironcha in Gadchiroli, and 60 other cadres is a big development, Fadnavis said.

"It is a big thing in the history of the country. Bhupathi's surrender is the beginning of the end of the Naxal movement in Maharashtra," he said.

Naxalites should know that they have lost the ideological war, and equality and justice can be achieved only by joining the mainstream and adhering to the Indian Constitution, he said.

The CM assured that those who have surrendered will be rehabilitated with dignity.

In the next 5 to 7 years, one lakh "sons of the soil" in Gadchiroli will be employed in the district itself, which is becoming a steel hub, he said.

In the last 10 years, the Narendra Modi government at the Centre ensured that the administration and development reach the last person in the society and gave only two options to Naxalites, to either surrender and join the mainstream or face the consequences, he said.

Fadnavis lauded the bravery of the Gadchiroli police in the fight against Naxalism.

For more than 40 years, Gadchiroli district witnessed Maoist violence and was far from development, he noted.

The youth of Gadchiroli were misled by the Maoist ideology and did not know that equality can be achieved only through the Constitution, he said.

Fadnavis appealed to the remaining Naxalites to surrender, or else they will have to face consequences.

He assured a proper rehabilitation of all the Naxalites who have surrendered.