Telangana: Senior Maoist leader Tippiri Tirupati alias Devji, who recently surrendered before the Telangana Police after more than four decades underground, said he now plans to resume his education and pursue a course in law.
Tirupati (62), who went underground in the early 1980s, said on Thursday that he is considering completing his 12th standard education, which he had left unfinished.
“I will find out the rules and regulations for pursuing higher education. If I have to work within the legal framework, I have to study laws in depth. I would like to study law,” he told PTI.
Currently staying at his native village Korutla near Karimnagar, Tirupati said he abandoned his studies while in Class 12 after being influenced by the ideals of creating an equal society and inspired by former CPI (Maoist) general secretary Muppalla Lakshman Rao alias Ganapati and other leaders.
Reflecting on present-day social conditions, he said that although the middle class had expanded in the country, unemployment and poverty continued to persist. He also expressed concern over the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), saying it could lead to large-scale job losses.
Tirupati, who had served as a member of the CPI (Maoist) Politburo and Central Committee, clarified that he has no interest in joining politics.
He further said that surrendering did not mean joining the mainstream. “We were working with people and their problems even while underground. So, it is not the mainstream. We resumed our open life,” he said.
Speaking to PTI Videos in March this year, Tirupati had demanded that the Centre lift the ban on CPI (Maoist) and recognise it as a political party, even though the organisation does not support participation in electoral politics.
Tirupati surrendered before the Telangana Police in February this year after spending over 40 years in underground Maoist activities.
With PTI inputs