New Delhi [India]March 30 (ANI): Noting that the Modi government has taken several steps to kick-start development in areas affected by left-wing extremism, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that Naxalism has been almost eliminated from Bastar and the region is now on the path of progress.
Responding to the debate in Lok Sabha on efforts to free the country from left-wing extremism, Amit Shah took aim at the Congress and questioned why tribal communities remained “deprived of development” during its rule.
Shah said the people of Bastar had fallen behind development standards as “the shadow of red terror loomed large”.
“Today, Naxalism has been almost eliminated from Bastar. A drive has been launched to set up a school in every village across Bastar. A drive has been undertaken to open a ration shop in every village within the district. Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and Community Health Centers (CHCs) have been set up in every tehsil and panchayat. Aadhaar cards and ration cards have been issued to people and they are now receiving five kilograms of food grains,” he said.
“I would simply ask those who were here defending Naxalism: Why have people not received these benefits yet?… The people of Bastar were left behind precisely because the shadow of ‘Red Terror’ was looming over the region; that is why development failed to reach them. Today, that shadow has been lifted and Bastar is now on the path of development,” he added.
Shah said there could be no justification for violence and demands should be raised through constitutional means.
“Out of the 75 years since independence, power has remained in your hands (Congress) for 60 years. Why then have tribal communities remained deprived of development even to this day? Only now, with the arrival of Narendra Modi, has actual development begun. For sixty years, you have failed to provide them with homes or access to clean water; you have not built them schools; you have blocked mobile towers and banking facilities from reaching their areas, and yet you are now the ones demanding accountability?” He added.
Twelve crore people have been living in poverty for years due to Naxalism and thousands of young lives have been lost, the Home Minister said.
“The root cause of Naxalism is not the demand for development. It is an ideology – an ideology embraced by Indira ji in 1970 in order to win the presidential elections. Naxalism has spread precisely because of this leftist ideology,” he said.
“Twelve states were affected – Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Kerala, parts of Karnataka, and three districts of Uttar Pradesh. A complete ‘Red Corridor’ was formed, and the rule of law ended there. Twelve crore people lived in poverty for years, and no one showed any concern. The lives of thousands of young people were sunk. Many of them became disabled.” Permanently or paralyzed for the rest of their lives, he asked.
The Lok Sabha held a discussion on efforts to free the country from left-wing extremism earlier in the day.
The government will eliminate Naxalism by March 31 this year, the government said.
