Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Sunday ruled out holding any peace talks with the banned Maoists.

Responding to the recent statement of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for peace talks with the Maoist organisation, the Union Minister said: "There is no point in holding talks with a banned organization. They must first drop the guns and surrender to the police."

He criticised the Chief Minister’s assertion that the Maoist issue should be viewed from a social perspective, as well as the former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao’s call to halt ‘Operation Kagar’. "What is the point of view of the incidents where innocent people and tribals are shot at, from a social perspective? Should we consider it socially acceptable when bombs, like claymore mines, are planted to kill the police?" he questioned.

He pointed out that it was the Congress government that had banned the Communist Party of India (Maoist). "What are these supposed social aspects and pressures for discussions? Did you forget about many people - including tribals and police officers—who were killed?" he asked.

After attending a Hanuman idol installation at Kothapalli in Karimnagar district, Sanjay challenged the Congress government in Telangana to have the courage to lift the ban on the Maoists. He labelled Revanth Reddy's comments on the ‘Operation Kagar’ as absurd, highlighting what he had perceived as double standards among the Congress leaders advocating for talks with the Maoists.