Overview

• As he took charge, B. Shivadhar Reddy invited CPI (Maoist) cadres to lay down arms, promising sympathetic treatment and no harassment.
• He credited intelligence-led pressure for recent defections, highlighting the surrender of Central Committee member Padmavati alias Sujata, who is receiving police-assisted medical care.
• Pointing to internal rifts, he cited Mallojula Venugopal’s August 15 ceasefire call and rejected claims it was merely a personal view, saying it followed high-level discussions.
• He said formal talks are unnecessary because Maoist activity in Telangana is minimal and largely confined to occasional cross-border movement from Chhattisgarh.
• Responding to reports on use of the Preventive Detention Act over social media posts, he said he would verify the matter and warned of action against online character assassination.