Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah today replied to the discussion in the Lok Sabha under Rule 193 on the efforts to free the country from Left-Wing Extremism (LWE).

While replying to the discussion, Union Home Minister Shri 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 Shri Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, every poor person across the country received a house, gas connection, drinking water, insurance up to ?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. Shri 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.

Shri Amit Shah said that this is the government of Narendra Modi Ji, 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. Shri 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 Ji 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. Root cause of Naxalism is not lack of development but Left-wing ideology, which was accepted by the leader of then ruling party to win the Presidential election in 1969.

Shri Amit Shah said that former Prime Minister Dr. 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 Ji, 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. Shri 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 Ji’s government. And now, the creation of anNaxalism-free India will also happen under the rule of Narendra Modi Ji. Shri 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.

Union Home Minister said that the credit for the major development of a Naxalism-free India, which is about to take shape in the country, goes entirely to our Central Armed Police Forces, especially the jawans of CoBRA and CRPF, the state police — particularly the jawans of Chhattisgarh State Police and DRG — and the local tribals. He said that the people have also made a significant contribution to the elimination of Left-Wing Extremism.

Shri Amit Shah said that this ideology has nothing to do with development or the demand for development. He questioned that what is this ideology? What is Maoist ideology? What is their guiding slogan? Their guiding slogan is “Power flows from the barrel of the gun.” He said these people are not fighting for development, but for the survival and victory of their ideology, and to capture power by spreading their ideology among innocent tribals. They have no faith in democracy. He said that some people have gone to the extent of comparing them with Shaheed Bhagat Singh and BhagwanBirsa Munda. Are you comparing Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Bhagwan Birsa Munda — who fought against the British — with those who break the Constitution, pick up arms and kill innocent people? He said this ideology believes that only a prolonged war can spread their ideology. They have no hesitation even in shedding the blood of their own people. The supporters of this ideology have not taken Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Shaheed Bhagat Singh or Subhas Chandra Bose as their ideals, but have instead chosen Mao as their ideal.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the truth is that they had deliberately chosen the entire Red Corridor because the reach of the state was weak there. Innocent tribals were misled and weapons were placed in their hands. He said that the tribals who, since before 15 August 1947, had considered Bhagwan Birsa Munda, TilkaManjhi, Rani Durgavati and the Murmu brothers as their heroes — how did those same tribals start considering Mao as their hero by the time 1970 arrived? Shri Shah said that it was not because of development or injustice, but because of the difficult geography and the absence of the state that the Leftists chose this area to spread their ideology and began misleading the innocent tribals. He said that the Left-wing extremists did not allow development to reach that area for years, but now under the governance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, development is reaching every household there. The Home Minister said that Naxalism did not spread because of poverty; rather, poverty remained in the entire region for years because of Naxalism. He said that the roots of Naxalism are not linked to poverty and lack of development, but are ideological.