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RAIPUR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday asserted that the outlawed CPI (Maoist) will be eliminated from the country by March 2026 with the strategy aimed at a final assault against the rebels.
He announced the deadline after chairing the review meeting of the inter-state coordination committee in Raipur focussing on strategy and assessment of operations against the left-wing extremists.
“The fight against the Maoists has reached its final stage and the country will be free from the Maoist problem by March 2026. The top 14 Maoist leaders were neutralised. From 2014 to 24 there were a minimum number of cases related to Maoists registered,” he said.
Chief secretaries and director generals of police (DG) from seven Maoist-hit states besides top officials from the Centre, chiefs of central paramilitary forces attended the meeting.
Shah said that the strategy to counter the Maoists had twin objectives. “First the efforts were directed to establish rule of law in the Maoist-affected areas and second to develop the area that witnessed destructions”, he stated.
The Home Minister cited Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra as the states that are now free from the Maoist menace and claimed it as one of the big achievements of the Central government.
“From 2004 to 2014 there were 16,463 Maoist-related incidents and from 2014 till now 7744 naxal disturbances - a 53 per cent drop, had occurred. 6617 security personnel and civilians died during 2004-2014 and later there was a decrease by 70 per cent restricting the figure of deaths of both security personnel and civilians compared to 2004”, he said.
There was a decline of 73 per cent in the casualties of security forces and 69 per cent in the deaths of civilians in Maoist-affected areas.
The year 2010 recorded the highest casualties at 1005, got lessened to 138 in the year 2023. Since 2019 there were 277 new camps of central armed police forces (CAPF) were set up to fill the security vacuum.
“The agencies of the Centre have sternly targeted the total ecosystem of Maoists’ financial resources. Besides the NIA, the role of Enforcement Directorate (ED) played a crucial role. A lot of works on infrastructure developments were carried out in the Maoist-affected areas”, he said
Shah also reviewed Chhattisgarh’s security situation owing to the Maoist challenge and said that the new government in Chhattisgarh deserves praise for their achievements on the Maoist front.
“As many as 149 cadres of the left-wing extremists were neutralised till August, 569 arrested, 540 had surrendered, 47 new security base camps were established in Chhattisgarh. During the earlier Congress regime all operations against Maoists were slowed down”, he claimed, elucidating the figures.
The home ministry and the Chhattisgarh government will run a campaign to educate those (irrespective of their age) who remained illiterate in areas affected owing to the long persisting influence of the Maoist insurgency.
Shah again exhorted members of the banned outfit to relinquish violence and be part of the mainstream. “Those who remain reluctant will surely face action. We don't believe only in taking actions but also ensure the development works reach the affected areas”, he said.
There are joint task forces comprising two or more states created depending upon the situation and needs, the exchange of intelligence inputs or its network has been strengthened and the agencies of the Centre work as coordination for all affected states, the Union Minister said.
Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai and the state home minister Vijay Sharma too were present during the high-level meeting.