NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday chaired a security and development review meeting of the Chief Ministers of Naxal-affected states and asserted that the fight against Left-Wing-Extremism (LWEs) has entered the final stages and the government is resolved to defeat and eliminate the menace by March 2026.
Addressing the CMs and top officials, Shah assured them of all possible Central assistance in their pursuit to dismantle the ideology-driven violence. He said certain gaps were being highlighted by a few states, including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
“I assure you that in a day or two, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will send you a detailed point-wise action plan. I am told that the Union Home Secretary is going to hold a meeting of stakeholders on the proposals sent by the states for road connectivity.”
Sources said Andhra Pradesh has sent a proposal for additional funds to construct roads with a length of over 1,455 km and Telangana government is seeking assistance of over Rs 1,000 crore for infrastructure deficit in the affected areas.
The Naxal-affected states include Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana and Maharashtra attended the meeting while other states were represented by senior ministers and officials.
The Home Minister noted that if the development has to reach the last person in the affected areas, the Left ideology-driven violence has to be completely ended. “To fight against LWE, it is necessary to establish rule of law in the Naxal affected areas. For the first time in the last 30 years, the number of people killed due to left ideology-backed extremism has been less than 100,” he said.
Incidentally, the crucial meeting was held after security forces killed 31 extremists in the forests of Chhattisgarh in one of the most successful operations in recent times.
Noting that the fight against LWE violence is now in its final stages, Shah said by March 2026, the country “will get freedom from this decades-old problem.” He said, “Eighty-five percent cadre strength of LWE is now confined only to Chhattisgarh. Since January, 194 extremists have been killed, 801 of them have given up arms and 742 have surrendered in that state.”
The Home Minister said forces are now carrying out offensive rather than defensive operations. As part of this strategy, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been choking the funds flowing to Naxal outfits, which has resulted in a shortage of resources for them, he said, adding that multiple long-duration operations ensured that the Naxalites are surrounded, leaving them with no opportunity to escape.