Raipur: A day after security forces gunned down CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju and 26 other ultras in Abujhmad jungle in Narayanpur district under south Bastar of Chhattisgarh, chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Thursday renewed his appeal to the Naxals to surrender and join the mainstream.Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Sai said he along with Union home minister Amit Shah has been appealing to the Maoists to give up violence and join the mainstream of development.“We have been exhorting the Maoists not to talk of language of bullets and lay down arms and join the mainstream. Justice will be done and their suitable rehabilitation will be carried out if they surrender”, he said.He said his government has undertaken several measures to properly rehabilitate the surrendered Maoists and ensure their livelihood by imparting them professional skill training.A record number of Maoists have surrendered in the last 17 months since he assumed office, he said.Mr. Sai further said his government has also intensified counterinsurgency operations to make Bastar Maoist free and achieved huge success in the field.“Peace has been restored in Bastar. Two major events, Bastar Olympics and Bastar Pandum, were conducted in Bastar successfully. Naxal influence now confines to a very limited area in Bastar now”, he said.He said two major operations against Maoists were conducted in the last one month.The 21-day long operation in Karregutta Hills range on Chhattisgarh-Telangana border that ended on May 11 in which 31 Naxals were gunned down and Wednesday’s operation in Abujhmad jungle where 27 Maoists including CPI (Maoist) general secretary Basavaraju were killed, had dealt a blow to Maoists.The killing of Maoist top gun Basavaraju particularly has shattered the backbone of the Naxal movement in the country, he added.