Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister has urged the Naxals to come together and engage in dialogue with the administration in order to find answers. His plea was made just hours after a Friday encounter in Bijapur resulted in the deaths of twelve Naxalites.

“I appeal to them (the Naxals) to join the mainstream and have discussions with our government, which is ready to provide very good facilities, more of which will be announced in the future,” Sharma told ANI. “The solutions to the issues should be found through talks. Development should reach every village. Why should the people of Bastar be kept hostage?” he added.

Talking about the operation of the security forces, he said, “Around a thousand soldiers of the DRG, STF and Cobra battalions of Bijapur and Dantewada had set out for the joint operation. Fortunately, in the operation, none of our soldiers were injured.” Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai congratulated the security forces after the operation.

“An encounter broke out between Naxals and the Security forces in the Gangaloor area of Bijapur district. 12 dead bodies of the Naxals have been recovered. I congratulate our jawans and senior officers. Ever since we came into government, we have fought strongly against the Naxalites. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah also want Naxalism to end in Chhattisgarh. We are benefiting from the double-engine government,” CM Vishnu Deo Sai told ANI.

On Friday, an altercation broke out in the Chhattisgarh jungle close to Pidiya village between Naxals and security personnel. Earlier this month, in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh’s Kanker, 29 Naxals were killed and three security officers were injured in an encounter.