Amit Shah It said on Monday that talks were ongoing with the only active member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), while other members had either surrendered or been killed.
Although he did not mention a name, he seemed to be referring to Mihir Besra, who was active in the Jharkhand region and whose surrender would bring the Center on the verge of fulfilling its vow to rid itself of Maoism. Two days before the deadline set by the Center to eradicate Naxalite, Shah said India had become “Naxalite” and called it the Modi government’s crowning achievement, even as he accused the Congress of being friendly to Naxalite supporters.
Shah attacks Congo’s red ties, suggests UPA’s fall was turning point
Shah also said it was wrong to think that Naxalism was rooted in tribal justice and lack of development in tribal areas. He said the Naxalites were responsible for the lack of development.Replying to a discussion in the Lok Sabha on “efforts to rid the country of left-wing extremism”, Shah praised the state police forces and the Central Reserve Police Force’s CoBRA (Commandos for Resolute Action) for their heroic response to the Naxal challenge. But he also emphasized the political will of the Modi government, suggesting that the change of the UPA government was a turning point.Shah claimed that Samajwadi Party opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had on many occasions shared public spaces with Naxalites and their sympathizers and that Naxalite attire had also been incorporated into his Bharat Jodo Yatra. He said slogans were raised in support of Naxal leader Sidma, who was killed by police, during the protests at India Gate, a video of which Rahul Gandhi posted on social media.Shah alleged that members of Sonia Gandhi’s National Advisory Council under the UPA government had Naxalite links and accused the then Congress minister Jairam Ramesh of writing to the state seeking the release of Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellow Mahesh Raut, who was arrested for his Naxalite links.He also mentioned the inclusion of Binayak Sen – known to be “pro-Naxalite” – in the Planning Commission under the UPA and claimed that the Congress itself became Naxalite due to its alliance with the Maoists. Shah said the success against Naxalite in Chhattisgarh was entirely due to one factor – the failure of the Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel in the state.Greyhounds, a dedicated anti-Naxal force in Congress-controlled Telangana state, have refused to join central forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations in the hills even as they agreed to cooperate in catching extremists when they come to the plains, the home minister said. Shah said that when 76 policemen were killed by Naxalites during the UPA, students of Jinan University celebrated the event by dancing on the map of India.Referring to “intellectuals” and “urban Naxalites”, he said 2,000 articles had been written advocating dialogue with Naxalites, but not a single article dealt with victims of Maoists. “I don’t accept these double standards of humanity,” he said.Recalling the Peace Operation, which he noted was launched by Congress party Neta Mahendra Karma, Shah said Justice Sudarshan Reddy gave the verdict disbanding the Peace Operation and the opposition named Reddy as its vice-presidential candidate in 2025. He accused Reddy of “ideological bias” and slammed the high court verdict. He called Naxalism an ideological armed struggle against democracy and its motto was “Political power comes from the barrel of a gun”.Shah said left-wing parties in India were born out of the communist revolutions in Russia and China, adding that left-wing parties rooted outside India – which were inspired by the foreigner Mao Zedong – were unable to take into account Indian concerns. Shah said the Modi government has adopted a “tit for tat” policy against those who do not surrender and the benefits of development are reaching families in Bastar.He said Naxalism had resulted in the killing of 20,000 young people and maiming many others, and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called it the biggest internal security problem.Shah identified eradication of Naxalism along with resolution of “outstanding issues” such as abrogation of Article 370, construction of Ram temples, enactment of GST and CAA and reservation rights for women.He said if the cause of Maoism was lack of development, many other places could have been affected by Naxalites as well. In the early years of independence, “the government’s influence was limited” and the Naxalites misled gullible tribals, he said.He said 706 Naxalites were killed, 2,218 arrested and 4,839 surrendered.
PM praises Shah’s reply to red debate
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Home Minister Amit Shah’s reply to the discussion on Left Wing Extremism (LWE) as excellent, saying he brought out important facts, historical context and the government’s efforts over the past decade to neutralize the menace. “For decades, the retreat of Maoist ideology has adversely affected the development of some regions