Students raise slogans for Maoist commander Hidma in Delhi; Chhattisgarh Home Minister asks protesters: “Come to Bastar, I’ll show you reality”

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma has sharply criticised a group of students in Delhi who raised slogans in support of slain Maoist commander Madvi Hidma during a protest at India Gate, publicly challenging them to “come to Bastar and see the truth” instead of “sitting in Delhi and glorifying violence.

Speaking to reporters in Raipur on Monday, Sharma said the protesters had “no idea what Bastar has suffered” and accused them of romanticising a militant responsible for decades of killings.




“They call Bastar peaceful from the comfort of Delhi. They have never seen the ground reality. I invite them—come once, and I will personally make all arrangements. They will understand the situation here,” he said, "it's very clear that Maoism that talks and wants to govern using guns, can not sustain at all."

"I would like to tell these students to watch what had happened at Tianaman square in China, when the govt of Maoist govt of China had killed the students of their own country. And whatever the situation there may be, India is the biggest democracy and Maoism in this country cannot go on here," Sharma said.

The incident unfolded on Sunday when an anti-pollution demonstration at India Gate took an unexpected turn. A group of young participants began waving posters calling Hidma a “people’s hero” and chanted “comrade Hidma amar rahe," prompting outrage across social media and political circles.

Videos of the sloganeering went viral within hours. Sharma said, "I have seen the video of them sloganeering, they are kids filled with different sentiments. Once they come here, I will make them meet a 25-year-old youth of Bastar who had seen a television in the 25th year of his life. They cannot mislead people by talking like this. It’s not fair to think this way. It’s good to question for the sake of society and the country, but it’s even more important to understand the issue properly first."

Delhi BJP leaders posted the clips on X, claiming the protesters had used the pollution rally as a façade. “Posters on pollution, slogans for Naxalites… their real motive is clear,” the party wrote, accusing “anti-national elements” of orchestrating the act.Several social media posts questioned why students were glorifying a man accused of multiple attacks on civilians and security forces

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