Raipur: Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Chhattisgarh's Bastar on Friday, a Naxal expert has said that the visit gains significance in view of peace overtures by the Naxals in the state. Naxal expert Shubhranshu Chowdhary said that the Naxals in the state are demanding tribal rights in a peaceful manner of late adding the next phase of the peace process will be talks.
Chowdhary said that Naxalites have been continuously making peace overtures hinting that they want to hold talks with the government. “It is time for a complete solution. The Home Ministry is also thinking something in this direction, the answer of which can be given by Amit Shah during his visit to Bastar," he said.
Also read: Five Naxalites arrested, several injured in encounter in Sukma, ahead of Amit Shah's visit
Choudhary said that the last time Amit Shah had come to Chhattisgarh was to pay homage to the 22 soldiers who were martyred in the Bijapur Naxal attack on April 3, 2021. “During that visit, he had given a stern warning to bury the Naxalites 6 inches below the ground. But it will be interesting to see what message he conveys during today's visit,” he said.
Significantly, there has been a spike in the Naxalite activities in Bastar ahead of Shah's visit. On Thursday, five Naxalites were arrested and several injured during an encounter between naxalites and police in Sukma district on Thursday. The encounter took place at around 11 am on Thursday at the Kotlander forest in the Sukma district.
Recently, a video of Naxalites surfaced in Sukma, in which a large number of villagers were also seen along with uniformed Naxalites. In this video, a female Naxalite was seen expressing her opposition to Amit Shah's visit to Bastar.
