India on verge of eliminating Naxalism: Amit Shah in Jharkhand

Hazaribag (Jharkhand): India is "on the verge of" eliminating Naxalism, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday and asserted that the Narendra Modi government is "determined" to win this battle.

He was addressing troopers of the Border Security Force (BSF) on the paramilitary force's 59th Raising Day celebrations here. The about 2.65-lakh personnel strong force was raised on this day in 1965.

In the last 10 years, Shah said, incidents of Naxal violence have gone down by 52 per cent, deaths in these incidents declined by 70 per cent and the number of affected districts have come down from 96 to 45. The number of "LWE-hit police stations have come down from 495 to 176", he said.

"The last strike against LWE (left-wing extremism) by forces such as the BSF, the CRPF and the ITBP is in the process. We are determined to end Naxalism in the country," the home minister said.

Shah said his government was "on the verge of" eliminating the violent left-wing extremism of armed Maoist cadre in various states, including Jharkhand.

He also counted the recent operations undertaken by security forces in the hills and forests of 'Burapahar' and 'Chakarbandha' in the state that freed vast tracts of areas from the clutches of Maoists.

"I am sure we will win this battle," Shah said and added that as many as 199 new security forces' camps have been established in LWE-affected areas since 2019.

In the last 10 years of the Modi government, "we have been able to win the battle in hotspots of Jammu and Kashmir, LWE (areas) and (against) insurgency in the Northeast, and security forces have been able to establish their domination in Jammu and Kashmir", he said.