Maoists offer peace talks, demand ceasefire from government

The outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) has announced a temporary suspension of its armed struggle to facilitate peace talks. In a statement, the group has asked the government to declare a one-month ceasefire and halt all security operations to initiate the process. This development comes in the wake of significant operations by central forces, which included the killing of CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Basavaraju. The Chhattisgarh government is currently verifying the authenticity of the purported statement which surfaced on social media. Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who holds the home portfolio, stated that the veracity of the communication is being checked and mentioned that the best path for Maoists is to surrender and benefit from the government's rehabilitation schemes.