Union Home Minister Amit Shah in an assertive statement on September 20, said that the government will uproot Maoism and the idea of Maoism from the country in a span of 1-1.5 years.
Home Minister Amit Shah during an interaction with the Maoist violence victims from Chhattisgarh, said “We will uproot Maoism and the idea of Maoism from this country and establish peace…The Narendra Modi government has been successful in ending Maoism in the entire country except for 4 districts of Bastar. The date of 31.03.2026 has been fixed to bid final farewell to Maoism from this country. I assure you that Maoism will be ended before that.”
“I cannot retract the damage that has already been done, but I will try to ensure that innocent people don’t have to face any such issues,” he added.
Guaranteeing complete support from the Union for improved infrastructure and resources in the area, Shah stated, “The Chhattisgarh government has requested help from the Union Government for the PM Awas Yojana and sanitation facilities. These services will be provided to you. The Home Ministry will manage health facilities linked to the Yojana, and a detailed plan will be created in partnership with the state government to tackle the Maoist issue.”
Shah encouraged those involved in Maoist activities to abandon their weapons and reintegrate into society. He stated that the government could soon launch a campaign to encourage this.
“Lay down your weapons and return to the mainstream–many in Kashmir have made that choice, and you can too. If not, we will initiate a campaign to encourage this change,” he said. Notably, there have been continuous efforts by the government to end Maoism in India. In a recent operation, a Maoist was killed an encounter with security forces in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.
According to the Sukma police, the encounter took place early in the morning in the jungles on a hill near Tumalpad village under Chintagufa police station limits when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-maoist operation.
Moreover, four battalions of the Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF) comprising 4000 CRPF personnel are set to be deployed in Bastar for anti-insurgency operations.
On August 24, during an inter-state coordination meeting with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Chief Secretaries and Director Generals of Police of Chhattisgarh and neighbouring states suffering from left-wing extremism in the area, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that there was a 70 per cent reduction in the deaths of security personnel who were killed due to Maoism and that the fight has reached the end phase and by March 2026, the country will be completely free from Maoism.
“In the first 10 years, 6617 security personnel were killed and now there has been a 70 per cent reduction. Similarly, we have witnessed a 69 per cent reduction in the deaths of citizens. I believe that our fight has reached the end phase and by March 2026, we will be able to free the country completely from Maoism,” Shah said.
(with inputs from ANI)
