Stressing that this goal will be achieved under the Narendra Modi-led government, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Naxalism is the biggest hurdle in the development of tribal areas and an enemy of humanity as a whole
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reviewed the security situation in Naxal-affected regions with the chief ministers and top officials of insurgency-hit states, days after security forces killed 31 Naxals in the forests of Chhattisgarh.
“I hope that through one such meeting in April 2026, we will be able to tell the country that we have completely freed the country from Naxalism,” he said. The affected states include Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
Shah last chaired such a review meeting on October 6, 2023. During that meeting, he had given comprehensive directions with regard to eliminating Naxalism.
Here are the highlights from the high-level security review meeting:
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India will completely eliminate Naxalism by 2026. He said Modi has set the goal of making India a developed nation by 2047, and the 8-crore tribal population has an important role to play in this.
- He said Naxalism is the biggest hurdle in the development of tribal areas and an enemy of humanity as a whole. He added that it prevents education, healthcare, connectivity, banking, and postal services from reaching villages. He further stressed that to ensure that development reaches the last person, we must completely eliminate Naxalism.
- Shah said due to Naxalism, more than 8 crore people have been deprived of basic amenities, which is a major violation of human rights.
- He further said since January, 237 Naxals have been neutralised, 812 arrested and 723 have surrendered in Chhattisgarh.
- The home minister said a “zero-tolerance” approach to left wing extremism (LWE) and full implementation of government schemes will transform affected areas into fully developed areas.
- He said the central government is strengthening the 3-C approach: road connectivity, mobile connectivity and financial connectivity.
- Under the Modi-led government, he said, security spending in LWE-affected states has nearly tripled, reaching Rs 3,006 crore.
- He added that from 2004 to 2014, only 66 fortified police stations were constructed, but the Centre has built 544 such stations in the last 10 years.
- Violent incidents in LWE-affected areas have dropped by 53%, from 16,463 cases between 2004 and 2014 to 7,700 in the last 10 years, Shah said.
- Chief ministers of all LWE-affected states should review development and anti-Naxal operations once a month, and director generals of police (DGP) should do this at least once in 15 days, he said.
Union ministers from different ministries, who are cooperating with the states to expedite development works in LWE-affected areas, were also present during the meeting. The Union home secretary, director of the Intelligence Bureau, deputy national security adviser, senior officers of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and the central government, chief secretaries, DGPs, and senior officials from LWE-affected states also attended.
