Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh): Union Home Minister Amit Shah Monday asserted that India is now “by and large” free from three main internal security problems of Naxalism, terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and insurgency in the Northeast.
Speaking in the former Maoist stronghold of Jagdalpur, Bastar, Shah said the Centre and the state government are working with full commitment to ensure lasting peace and progress in the region and it will emerge as the most developed tribal area of the country within the next five years.
Shah, who is on a three-day tour of Chhattisgarh, his first after the country was declared free from Maoist violence in March, urged the people of Bastar to “accept” about 3,000 surrendered Naxals and help in their assimilation into the national mainstream.
The minister will chair the 26th central zonal council meeting in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district, on Tuesday, which will see the participation of four chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
“It is a big day for the country today as India is Naxal-free. This was a dream that has been achieved after numerous security personnel sacrificed their lives in operations,” Shah said at an event held at the campus of the Bastar Academy of Dance, Art and Literature (BADAL).
The minister regretted that the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) that emerged in India in the 1970s “consumed three generations” through violence, depriving the people of their basic necessities.
“In 2014, when the Modi government took charge, there were challenges (related to internal security) in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeastern states and Left Wing Extremism.
“I can now say that, by and large, the country is free from these three problems,” he said
He was officiating as the chief guest at the event, where families of locals killed by Naxals, jawans who displayed bravery during anti-Maoist operations, and tribal community leaders spoke to him about their experiences during the Naxal years.
Shah also paid tributes at Amar Vatika to more than 1,000 security personnel who laid down their lives in the fight against Naxals.
“The sacrifices of our jawans in establishing peace, security and development in Bastar region will never be forgotten,” Shah said.
“Both the Centre and the state government are working with full commitment to ensure lasting peace and development reaches the last person,” Shah said.
He also awarded police forces of multiple states and the central armed police forces (CAPFs) and the NIA which were part of these operations.
The minister urged the local community leaders of the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, to “accept” the surrendered Naxals by forgetting their “bitterness” and help in their assimilation into the mainstream of the country.
“About 3,000 Naxals have surrendered in the state…we have made a comprehensive plan to get them a respectable place in society. The Narendra Modi government will leave no stone unturned in this context..,” he said.
They will be back with their families after obtaining the required education and skills and contribute to nation-building, Shah said.
“I can assure you that Bastar will be prepared as the most developed tribal region in the country in the next five years,” he said, adding this was a “promise” of his government.
Shah said that out of the about 200 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) camps located in the state, around 70 will be redeveloped as ‘public service centres’ that will act as a “model of development.”
Roads, rural development works, bank branches, post offices, cooking gas, foodgrains, drinking water and electricity will be ensured in Bastar under the aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), he said.
He said the National Institute of Design (NID) has been tasked to prepare a blueprint for developing such public centres that will provide multiple welfare schemes and services to the local people.
He made a similar commitment while opening a ‘public service camp’ in the Netanar village of this district earlier.
He profusely praised the central forces CRPF and its jungle warfare unit CoBRA apart from Chhattisgarh Police’s DRG (District Reserve Guard) for their bravery, saying the country would not have seen this day had it not been the relentless operations of these forces along with others.
Shah made a special mention of ‘Operation Black Forest’ undertaken in 2025 at the Karregutta hills along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border. As many as 31 Naxals were killed and a huge cache of arms and ammunition was seized by the security forces led by the CRPF.
Addressing the event, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai dismissed the “narrative created by the opposition” that LWE eradication was being done to establish industries in these areas.
“I say this in the presence of community leaders of Bastar and after taking blessings from the Union Home Minister (Shah), who is present here…, Sai said.
PTI
