Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
| Photo Credit: Siddhant Thakur
If the Union government can hold dialogue with Pakistan, then why not with the Maoists, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said on Friday (September 19, 2025). He urged the Centre to hold a dialogue with those Maoists who want to join the mainstream.
Speaking to media persons in New Delhi, Mr. Reddy urged the Union government to show “mercy”. “Killing individuals is not a solution,” he said.
Since 2024, more than 400 persons allegedly involved in Maoism have been killed in Chattisgarh by a joint operation of State police and central armed forces.
“If someone wanted to lay down the arms and join the mainstream, they should be encouraged to do so,” Mr. Reddy said, giving the example of slain Politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) Mallojula Koteshwary Rao alias Kishenji’s widow Pothulla Padmavathi alias Sujatha’s recent surrender before the Telangana Police.
He asked, “If the government can hold a dialogue with Pakistan, which promotes terrorism then why can’t the government hold a dialogue with our own people?” At the same time, he said that if someone breaks law and order then they need to be seriously dealt with.
‘Extend compensation for States’
He also spoke on the need to extend compensation for all the States for five additional years under the overhauled Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Telangana, he said, will lose about ₹7,000 crore per annum due to the rationalisation of the GST slabs and must be compensated for it.
On the issue of Telangana Assembly Bills related to reservations pending with President Droupadi Murmu, the Chief Minister said his government will wait for the Supreme Court to pronounce its verdict in the Presidential Reference on the role of Governors in giving assent to Bills. Mr. Reddy and his Cabinet colleagues had held a dharna at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar last month over the issue.
The top court reserved its verdict earlier this month after hearing arguments for 10 days on the Presidential Reference, which had raised a question on whether a constitutional court can impose timelines for Governors and the President to give assent to Bills passed by State legislatures.
Published – September 19, 2025 10:09 pm IST
