A batch of 120 surrendered Maoists, including a former Central Committee Member of the banned CPI [Maoist], attended the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly proceedings in Naya Raipur on Friday (February 28, 2026).
The group, which included 54 women, spent several hours in the Assembly building where they watched the proceedings and met Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma and other senior Ministers who hailed the Maoists for their decision to return to the mainstream.
“Enabling rehabilitated individuals to earn a respectful livelihood remains a top priority of the government. We have framed our rehabilitation policy accordingly. The result is that those who once walked the path of violence are now standing with us in the temple of the Constitution, witnessing the democratic process,” said Mr. Sai.
Mr. Sharma welcomed the contingent and congratulated them for leaving the path of what he called “gun” tantra [rule by the gun].
Former Maoist Central Committee Member (CCM) Rupesh alias Satish, who was among those who visited the Assembly, said that they had surrendered due to the changed circumstances while side-stepping questions on his own possible foray into parliamentary politics. He told journalists it was not necessary for everyone who believes in democracy to enter electoral politics and that he intended to work for the people.
Dasru Aayam, a former Maoist who had spent nearly two decades in the Bastar forests and lost a part of his right hand in an encounter a decade back, said that he was learning masonry after getting rehabilitated.
Forty-year-old Raje Dulle, who had come from Sukma too, reiterated Rupesh’s line that they had surrendered due to changed circumstances without elaborating further.
Published – February 28, 2026 05:20 am IST
