BJP Minister Slams Telangana Chief Minister's "Naxalism A Philosophy" Remark

Junior Union Home Minister and prominent Telangana BJP leader, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, has criticised Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, accusing him of disrespecting the thousands of lives lost to Naxal violence, including civilians and police personnel, by referring to Naxalism as a "philosophy" that cannot be finished.

In a series of posts on X, the BJP leader questioned whether Mr Reddy, as the state's Home Minister, had any respect for the sacrifices made by the Telangana police. He alleged that the Congress government has links with former Naxalites and with Naxal sympathies, claiming this is a "conspiracy" to push Telangana's youth back into extremism.

Mr Sanjay reiterated the Central government's commitment to a "Naxal-free India" and asserted that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government would eradicate leftwing extremism by March 2026. "The Constitution and democracy stand above violent extremism," he said.

The political firestorm was ignited by Revanth Reddy's defence of the INDIA bloc's vice-presidential candidate, former Supreme Court Justice B Sudarshan Reddy. The Chief Minister urged all Telugu-speaking MPs to support Justice Reddy, whom he referred to as a "Telugu Bidda" (Telugu son).

Chief Minister Reddy rejected the notion that Naxalism is solely a law and order problem that can be resolved by force. He asserted that it is an "ideology" that stems from social and economic inequalities.

He stated that the Congress party's core policies, such as the Land Ceiling Act and the Forest Rights Act, are aimed at addressing these root causes and also emphasised that the Congress government views Naxalism from a social perspective, not just a law enforcement one.

Revanth Reddy was reacting to a statement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had claimed that Left-Wing Extremism would have been eradicated by 2020 had it not been for the Supreme Court's 2011 judgment on Salwa Judum.

Mr Shah's comments were widely seen as a direct attack on Justice B Sudarshan Reddy, who was one of the authors of the judgment and is now the opposition's vice-presidential candidate.

The 2011 judgment, in the case of Nandini Sundar vs State of Chhattisgarh, had declared the arming of tribal youth as Special Police Officers (SPOs) in the anti-Maoist militia, Salwa Judum, as unconstitutional. 

The court emphasised that the state could not "outsource" its duty to maintain law and order and urged a focus on the underlying socio-economic issues.

Mr Shah's remarks have been condemned by a group of 18 retired judges who called the interpretation of the judgment "unfortunate" and warned of a "chilling effect" on the judiciary.

They noted that the judgment was never meant to stop the fight against Naxalites, but rather to ensure that the state's actions were constitutional.