‘Naxalism will be completely eradicated’, Amit Shah cites gains in fight against Left-Wing Extremism in Chhattisgarh

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that a security-centric approach, infrastructure development and disruption of Maoist financial networks have delivered positive results in the fight against Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). Shah made the remarks after chairing a high-level security review meeting in Raipur.

Reiterating the government’s target, Shah said the Naxal menace would be eliminated from the country before March 31 this year. “The double-engine government has been leaving no stone unturned to completely eradicate the menace of Naxalism from the country, and it has reached the verge of its end,” he said.

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In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Shah stated, “The security-centric strategy, infrastructure development, targeting of the Naxal financial network and the surrender policy have yielded positive results, and Naxalism will be completely eradicated before March 31.”

High-level security review in Raipur

The meeting was attended by Vishnu Deo Sai, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, the Union Home Secretary, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Chiefs of central forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, and the National Investigation Agency, were also present, along with police chiefs from Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Telangana.

‘Ideology-driven challenge’, says Shah

Later in the day, addressing a conclave of Organiser Weekly, Shah appealed to Naxalites to lay down arms, assuring that the government would welcome those who surrender “with a red carpet.” He said the Maoist problem should not be seen merely as a development issue or a law-and-order challenge. “Left-Wing Extremism is an ideology-driven challenge,” he said.

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Shah further asserted that communist ideology is “destructive” and must be eliminated. “Wherever communists remained in power, they could not bring development. Communist ideology is indicative of destruction, and the country needs to get rid of it immediately,” he said. He also claimed that communist ideology has largely disappeared from democratic politics, citing Tripura, Bengal and Kerala.

According to police data, since January 2024, more than 500 Naxalites, including senior leaders such as CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, have been killed in encounters in Chhattisgarh. During the same period, around 1,900 Naxalites were arrested, and over 2,500 surrendered in the state.