“Days of those who indulge in Naxalite violence are now over”: Amit Shah

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reflected on the Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi-led central government’s efforts in eradicating Naxalism from the country and recognised the Left-wing ideology as the “root cause of Red Terror.” While replying to the discussion in the Lok Sabha under Rule 193 on the efforts to free the country from Naxalism, Amit Shah said that the Left-wing extremists and their supporters had presented a false narrative before innocent tribals that they were fighting for their rights and to deliver justice to them.

He said that Naxalism has now been almost completely eradicated from Bastar, and a campaign has begun to build schools and open ration shops in every village there. The Home Minister said that those who advocate for Naxalism should explain why all this did not happen from 1970 till now. He added that after the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, every poor person across the country received a house, gas connection, drinking water, insurance up to Rs 5 lakh, and 5 kg of free food grains. However, the people of Bastar were left out because the truth was denied and due to the shadow of Red Terror, development could not reach there.

Shah said that Red Terror was not there because there was no development; rather, development could not happen there because of Red Terror. But today, the shadow of Red Terror has been removed, and Bastar is developing. Amit Shah said that this is the government of Narendra Modi, and whoever picks up arms will have to face the consequences. The Home Minister said that the government is sensitive and wants to listen to all problems and resolve them. He said that the government has made schemes, but the Left-wing extremists and their supporters will not allow their implementation because they want their ideology, that is, their illegal rule, to continue there.

Shah said that even after 75 years of independence, the main opposition party ruled the country for 60 years, yet how did the tribals remain deprived of development? He added that it is now Narendra Modi who is bringing development. He said that the opposition party should introspect and see who is really at fault. Union Home Minister said that a complete Red Corridor had been created across 12 states, including Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Kerala, parts of Karnataka, and 3 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

In these areas, 12 crore people lived in poverty for years, and 20,000 youths lost their lives. Who is responsible for this? He said that the root cause of Naxalism is not the demand for development, but an ideology. The root cause of Naxalism is not a lack of development but Left-wing ideology, which was accepted by the leader of the then ruling party to win the Presidential election in 1969.

Amit Shah said that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had openly admitted before the entire country that the biggest internal security challenge facing the nation, compared to Kashmir and the Northeast, was the armed Maoists. He said that a change occurred in 2014, and under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, several long-standing problems have been resolved. Article 370 and 35A were removed, a grand temple has been built at Ram Janmabhoomi, GST has become a reality, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been enacted, and 33% reservation has been provided for women in legislative bodies.

Shah said that all the major tasks that the people of this country had been aspiring for since the time of independence have been accomplished in the 12 years of Narendra Modi’s government. And now, the creation of a Naxalism-free India will also happen under the rule of Narendra Modi. Shah said that the past 12 years have proved to be very auspicious for the country. In these 12 years, a lot has been done to free the country from poverty, to bring a new education system for the youth, to ensure internal and external security, and to set aside policies not connected with the country’s core values. He said that if one looks at the most historic and important decisions, then without any hesitation, a Naxalism-free India would rank at the top.