Ex-Maoist Sonu Regrets Darbha Ghati Killings, Reveals Party's Internal Remorse

• Former CPI (Maoist) ideological head Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu expressed regret over the 2013 Darbha Ghati massacre, stating the aim was not to eliminate the entire Congress leadership.
• Sonu claimed the primary target was Mahendra Karma due to his role in Salwa Judum, and the party later expressed internal regret for the killings.
• He confirmed Bastar MLA Kawasi Lakma was allowed to leave, as the intention was not to eliminate the local Congress unit, but showed no regret for the 2010 Chintalnar attack on CRPF.
• Sonu, who surrendered recently, cited increased security camps, "carpet bombing," and political mistakes leading to loss of popular support as reasons for the Maoist decline.
• He denied any links between CPI (Maoist) and foreign entities like China or Pakistani terror groups, dismissing such claims as media creations.