Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a review meeting on ‘Left Wing Extremism (LWE)’ in the National Capital on October 6. The meeting, to be held on October 6 morning, is likely to be attended by Chief Ministers, Home Ministers or their representatives from States of Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Kerala.
These are those States that are affected by ‘LWE’ or the naxal problem. Union Home Secretary, top officials of Central Armed Police Forces and many senior officers of Central and State Governments will also attend the meeting.
The meeting, which is held at certain intervals, aims at fulfilling the Union Government’s commitment to the development of left-wing extremist-affected States. However, a lot of success can be witnessed in the last few years in this sector due to the joint efforts of the Centre and the states in cracking down on Left Wing Extremism with extreme fall in naxal incidents.
The Union Government, however, determined that unless the country gets rid of the problem of Left Wing Extremism completely, the full development of the country and the states affected by it is not possible.
LWE has been a significant security challenge for so many decades. Though primarily a State subject, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has promulgated a ‘National Policy and Action Plan’ since 2015 to address the Left Wing Extremism menace holistically and the progress and the situation is being monitored rigorously and this Policy consists of a multi-pronged approach.
The significant features of the policy are zero tolerance towards violence coupled with a big push to developmental activities so that benefits of development reach the poor and vulnerable in the affected areas.
Pursuant to the Policy, the Ministry of Home Affairs is supporting the State Governments in Capacity Building and strengthening of Security Apparatus by deployment of CAPF Battalions, provision of helicopters and UAVs and sanction of India Reserve Battalions (IRBs) and Special India Reserve Battalions (SIRBs).
Funds are also provided under the Modernization of Police Force (MPF), Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme and Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) for the modernization and training of State Police. For the development of Left Wing Extremism-affected States, the Government of India has taken several developmental initiatives which include sanctioning 17,600 km of road.
To improve telecom connectivity in Left Wing Extremism-affected districts, new mobile towers are being installed. For financial inclusion of the people in Left Wing Extremism-affected districts, several post offices, bank branches, ATMs and banking correspondents have been opened.
Special focus is also being given to the opening of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS).
The fight against the Left Wing Extremism menace is now in a crucial stage and the Government is optimistic about reducing the menace to an insignificant level at the earliest.
(with inputs from ANI)
