RAIPUR: (Nov 1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the number of Maoist-affected districts has fallen to three from 125 in the last 11 years, and the “day is not far” when the whole of Chhattisgarh and the country will be freed from the Naxal menace.
Speaking at ‘Chhattisgarh Rajat Mahotsav’, the 25th anniversary celebration of the formation of Chhattisgarh in Nava Raipur, he hailed the state’s growth journey and said the seed sown 25 years ago has grown into a “vat vriksh” (banyan tree) of development.
He was “deeply satisfied” that Chhattisgarh was breaking free from the clutches of Naxal violence which had caused immense suffering to the state for over five decades, the prime minister said.
“For 50 years, the people here suffered unbearable pain (because of Naxalism). Those who show off the Constitution and shed crocodile tears in the name of social justice have committed injustice to you for vested interests,” he said.
Maoist ideology deprived tribal regions of basic facilities, the PM said.
“For years, tribal villages lacked roads, schools and hospitals. The existing ones were blown up with bombs. Doctors and teachers were killed. Those who ruled the country for decades abandoned you while they enjoyed life in their air-conditioned offices,” Modi said.
He could not just stand by and watch his tribal brothers and sisters being destroyed by violence, he further said.
“I could not (bear to) see mothers crying for their children. In 2014, when you gave us the opportunity, we resolved to free India from Maoist terror. Today the results are before the nation,” Modi said.
Eleven years ago, 125 districts across India were affected by Maoist extremism, but today the number has declined to only three, he said.
“I guarantee that the day is not far when every corner of Chhattisgarh and India will be completely free from Maoist terror,” the prime minister added.
In the past few months, dozens of Maoists, including many carrying rewards of lakhs and crores of rupees on their heads, have surrendered across the country, Modi noted.
“In Kanker, more than 20 Naxalites laid down arms recently. Earlier in October, over 200 Maoists surrendered in Bastar. They have now accepted the Indian Constitution and chosen the path of peace,” he said.
Where once there was the fear of guns and bombs, the situation has changed, the PM said.
Electricity reached Chikapalli village of Bijapur for the first time in 70 years, while a school opened for the first time since Independence at Rekawaya village in Abujhmad region, he said.
Development work was on in full swing at Puvarti village, once known as a terror hub, and the tricolour flies proudly where the red flag (of the Naxals) once stood, the prime minister said.
“Despite facing the challenge of Naxalism for 25 years, Chhattisgarh kept moving forward. Now, with the end of Naxalism, our pace of development will accelerate,” he asserted.
