New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday declared India “Naxal-free” as he blamed the Congress and previous governments for the decades-long insurgency, criticized a landmark Supreme Court ruling that banned a controversial militia, and scorned sympathisers.
Shah’s 84-minute speech in the Lok Sabha came a day before the government’s March 31, 2026 deadline to eliminate left-wing extremism in the country. In the past three years, 4,839 Maoists surrendered, 706 were killed, and 2,218 were arrested and imprisoned, Shah said.
“The Central Committee and Politburo of Maoists had 21 members at the beginning of 2024. Today, there is none. There were 37 members of the state committee in Dandakaranya district. All of them were either killed, arrested or surrendered. In Telangana, only one leader is on the run. We have pledged that we will uproot Naxalism by March 31. Now, I can say India is a Naxal mukt,” Shah said.
The minister defended the use of force against the Maoists, saying that those who fired bullets should be shot back, adding that 92% of the weapons used by the rebels were taken from police stations.
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“We have improved policing, improved coordination between the CRPF and the police and have started an all-agency approach with the NIA, the Intelligence Directorate and the intelligence agencies. We have not left any vacuum in governance,” he said.
Shah also criticized former Supreme Court Justice P Sudershan Reddy, who was part of the Supreme Court bench that in 2011 banned Salwa Judum, a counter-insurgency citizen militia that was accused of human rights violations.
Shah said: “I condemn such a ruling that is based on an ideology that has led to the killing of thousands of civilians. Ideology cannot be above the interests of the people.”
Targeting the Congress, Shah alleged that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had accepted the support of the Maoists.
“Experts say that without the support of those in power, the Red Corridor would not have been possible,” he said, referring to the region affected by Maoist violence, across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Shah addressed the Lok Sabha after a long debate on efforts to free the country from left-wing extremism. He mentioned three important dates: August 20, 2019, August 24, 2024, and March 31, 2026.
“On August 20, there was a meeting in the Home Ministry on police coordination, recruitment of retired Naxals, and laying out our strategy. You can ask, why did it take so long? Because in Chhattisgarh, the Congress formed a government (2018-2023). In Chhattisgarh, the Congress government helped the Maoists survive. In January 2024, the government changed in Chhattisgarh. I went there the next month, and on August 24, “in 2024, I announced that Naxals will be eliminated in India. The number of Naxal-affected districts has reduced from 126 to just two. The number of most affected areas decreased from 35 to zero. Earlier, 350 police stations dealt with complaints related to Naxals. Now, there are only 7. We set up 406 CAPF camps and provided them with 400 bulletproof vehicles, 5 troop hospitals and night landing facilities for helicopters.”
The Shah vehemently attacked the Congress and what he called “urban Naxals”.
Shah accused the Congress leaders of supporting the Maoists and pointed out that the National Advisory Council led by Sonia Gandhi in 2004 included people like Harsh Mandhar, who he claimed supported the rebels.
He said that after 70 soldiers were killed by the Maoists, former Home Minister P Chidambaram said he could not ask the Naxalites to give up arms as armed struggle was their slogan. Shah claimed that after the soldiers were killed, the Leftists held celebrations at Jawaharlal Nehru University where the national flag was trampled. Shah even accused Rahul Gandhi of supporting the Maoist leader and sharing the stage with another feared rebel in Odisha.
Shah said that Salwa Godam was created by Congress leader Mahendra Karma. “But after Justice Reddy banned the Salwa Judum, the Maoists came and killed all the former leaders of the Salwa Judum. The Congress named the same P Sudershan Reddy as their candidate for the vice-presidential election. I condemn such a ruling which is based on an ideology that has led to the killing of thousands of civilians. Ideology cannot be above people’s concerns,” Shah said.
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The minister said that after 2014, a “clear policy and strong political will” had emerged with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making it clear that be it Kashmir, the North-East or the Maoist areas, illegal activities would not go unpunished and would be dealt with forcefully. Interstate coordination improved, as did policing and coordination among paramilitary forces. “We have initiated a cross-agency approach with the NIA, the Executive Directorate and Intelligence. We have not left any governance vacuum,” he added.
Shah alleged that “Urban Naxals” wrote 2,000 articles demanding sympathy for the Maoists.
“These urban Naxals have not written a single word to the mother whose eight-year-old son was kidnapped by Maoists for weapons training. They have not shown compassion towards the disabled farmers whose legs were amputated by bombs. More than 5,000 security forces have been martyred. There is no concern for their widows and orphan children. I do not accept this dual character of humanity,” the minister said. He also indicated that the government may go after Naxal sympathizers.
Describing the scene in the rehabilitation camps, Shah said: “All urban Naxals should go to rehabilitation camps and see how people’s lives have been ruined. A little girl cried while applying nail polish for the first time. She was kidnapped and all these years she had to run around wearing a T-shirt, trousers and a pair of shoes. When these girls meet their parents, some of them get angry at their parents for allowing them to join the Naxalites? Who will take care of a 32-year-old girl who can apply henna? For the first time,” Shah said, describing the scene in the rehabilitation camps. Once in the camp, will Narendra Modi take care of them?
He said Maoist sympathizers were equally guilty as those who took up arms against the country. The minister also criticized leftist ideology, which he said was inspired by Russia (the Soviet Union) and China.
“The leftists’ false propaganda was spread that to fight injustice, one must take up arms. Is it possible to take up arms against the Constitution and our country? This ideology was aimed at attacking the roots of democracy. Crisis solutions can happen through dialogue, not through weapons. They wanted to create a governance vacuum. By erasing respect for the Constitution, they wanted to create a constitutional vacuum. By burning police stations and killing security personnel, they wanted to create a security vacuum,” Shah said.
“I want to tell people that the influence of Maoists and Naks has diminished and the government’s rule will continue for a long time. In our country, 20 thousand people have died at the hands of Maoists. This is an ideological war. The country should not look at this as a battle against injustice. The leftist ideology has lost its base, that is why all leftists are trying to create different theories in any way possible to achieve their ideology. Their goal is to create a vacuum. Many innocent people have been killed. There are no lawyers, no judges, no courts, and they are the same They assume these roles and hang people and such actions cannot be justified.
“They ran a parallel government. They had a home minister and food ministers in Chhattisgarh. They created illusion and did not allow development work. They targeted the constitution and the justice system and did not allow people to participate in the electoral process: there would be no sarpanch, tehsil or panchayat members. ML could win As of their choice. Now, it is said, talks must take place. I have said that 50 times, in every part of Bastar and Shah said: “Give up your weapons, the government will rehabilitate you.” But they did not give up their weapons. Our government policy is clear: We can talk to those who shoot. This is our policy.”
“We used the latest technologies, used location tracking and scientific call locks. We improved forensic analysis, drone surveillance, satellite imaging, and AI data analysis. We had Operation Octopus in Burabahar in Bihar, Operation Double Boot in Golma and Laihar, Operation Thunderstorm in Sarai Qila, Khunti and Singhbhum districts, Operation Bhim in Munger, and Operation Chakrabanda in Gaya and Aurangabad. I would like to make a special mention of the Op Black force. In Telangana, the Maoists had set up a permanent camp on the Chhattisgarh border, and had enough ammunition and food to fight for five years, he added.
Speaking about the ground difficulties and resilience of the forces, Shah said that the afternoon temperature in the area could reach 45 degrees Celsius. “Our soldiers drained 2-3 liters of sweat and we could have given them 300 ml of water as ration. But no one complained. The operation continued for 21 days. More than 30 Maoists were killed. The rest tried to get down and were killed or arrested,” Shah said.
“One of the biggest reasons for the defeat of the Naxals is that governance has reached every village. We have followed a whole-of-government approach to development.”
In Maoist areas, 17,500 km of roads have been approved and 12,000 km have already been constructed, the minister told the House. The Union government has spent $20,000 crores, installed 5,000 mobile towers, opened 1,804 bank branches and 1,321 ATMs, with 37,550 banking correspondents. Another 6,025 post offices were opened in 12 years, as were 269 Eklavya Adarsh schools, 140 IT institutes, 49 community development centers and 16 Kushal Vikas Kendras. A 240-bed super specialty hospital has been set up in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh.
“For security and SRE, $Rs 3,000 crore has been given in ten years. In addition, $5,000 Crore for Special Infrastructure Schemes, Expanded SIS for $2000 Crores $Rs 4,000 crore has been spent on critical public infrastructure. Shah said that development is now possible because we have eliminated bomb makers.
