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 sidelined sympathizers.
Shah’s 84-minute address in the Lok Sabha came a day before the government’s March 31, 2026 deadline to end left-wing extremism in the country. Shah said that in the last three years, 4,839 Maoists surrendered, 706 were killed and 2,218 were arrested and jailed.
Shah said, “At the beginning of 2024, there were 21 members in the Central Committee and Politburo of the Maoists. Today there are none. There were 37 state committee members in Dandakaranya region. All of them have either been killed, arrested or surrendered. Only one leader is absconding in Telangana. We had sworn that by March 31 we will uproot Naxalism. Now, I can say that India is Naxal free.”
The minister defended the use of force against the Maoists, saying those who open fire should be responded to with bullets, adding that 92% of the weapons used by the rebels were taken from police stations.
Read this also ‘Leftist ideology, Indira Gandhi’: Amit Shah explains ‘root causes’ of Naxalism in Lok Sabha
“We reformed policing, improved coordination between the CAPFs and the police and initiated an all-agency approach with the NIA, ED and intelligence agencies. We left no stone unturned in governance,” he said.
Shah also criticized former Supreme Court judge B Sudarshan Reddy, who was part of the apex court bench that in 2011 banned anti-terrorist civilian militia Salwa Judum, which was accused of human rights violations.
Shah said, “I condemn a decision that is based on an ideology that led to the killing of thousands of civilians. Ideology cannot be above the interest of the people.”
Shah targeted the Congress and alleged that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had accepted the support of Maoists.
“Experts say that without the support of those in power, the Red Corridor could not have been built,” he said, referring to the areas affected by Maoist violence in 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 Naxalites and making our strategy. You may ask why it took so much time? Because Congress had formed the government in Chhattisgarh (2018-2023). The Congress government in Chhattisgarh helped the Maoists survive. In January 2024, the government changed in Chhattisgarh. I went there the next month and on August 24, 2024, I announced Naxal affected districts have reduced from 126 to zero. Earlier there were 350 police stations. We have set up 400 CAPF camps and given them night landing facilities.
Shah attacked the Congress harshly and what he called “urban Naxalites”.
Shah accused Congress leaders of supporting Maoists and said the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council in 2004 had people like Harsh Mander, whom he accused of supporting the rebels.
He said that after the killing of 70 soldiers by Maoists, former Home Minister P. Chidambaram had said that he cannot ask the Naxalites to give up their weapons as armed struggle is their motto. Shah alleged that after the killing of the soldiers, the leftists celebrated at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where the national flag was trampled. Shah also accused Rahul Gandhi of supporting a Maoist leader and sharing the stage with another dangerous insurgent in Odisha.
Shah said that Salwa Judam was created by Congress leader Mahendra Karma. Shah said, “But after Justice Reddy banned Salwa Judum, Maoists came and killed all the former leaders of Salwa Judum. Congress made the same B Sudarshan Reddy its candidate for the Vice President election. I condemn such a decision which is based on an ideology which led to the killing of thousands of civilians. Ideology cannot be above the interest of the people.”
Read this also After the review meeting, Amit Shah said, Naxalism has reached the verge of extinction.
The minister said that after 2014, “a clear policy and strong political will” was shown as Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that whether it is Kashmir, the Northeast or Maoist areas, illegal activities will not be spared and will be dealt with strictly. Coordination between states improved and policing and coordination among paramilitary forces improved. “We initiated an all-agency approach with NIA, ED and Intelligence. We left no stone unturned in governance,” he said.
Shah alleged that “urban Naxalites” wrote 2,000 articles demanding sympathy for the Maoists.
The minister said, “These urban Naxalites did not write a single word for the mother whose eight-year-old son was abducted by Maoists for weapons training. They did not show sympathy for the disabled farmers whose legs were blown off by bombs. More than 5,000 security forces were martyred. No article for their widows and orphan children. I do not accept this double character of humanity.” He further hinted that the government may go after Naxalite supporters.
Describing the scene in the rehabilitation camps, Shah said, “All urban Naxalites should go to the rehabilitation camps and see how people’s lives have been destroyed. A young girl cried while applying nail polish for the first time. She was kidnapped and for so many years she had to run away wearing a shirt, pants and a pair of shoes. When these girls meet their parents, some of them get angry with their parents for having brought them into the Naxal fold. Who will take care of a 32 year old girl who can apply mehendi for the first time?
He argued that Maoist supporters were as guilty as those who took up arms against the country. The minister also criticized leftist ideology, which he described as inspired by Russia (USSR) and China.
Shah said, “The false leftist propaganda was that one should take up arms to fight against injustice. Can arms be taken up against the Constitution and our country? The aim of this ideology was to attack the root of democracy. The solution to crises can be through dialogue, not through arms. They wanted to create a vacuum in governance. By erasing respect for the Constitution, they wanted to create a constitutional vacuum and by burning police stations and killing security personnel, they wanted to create a security vacuum.” Were.”
“I want to tell people that Maoists and Naxalite influence has reduced and the government’s rule will continue for a long time. 20,000 people have died in our country at the hands of Maoists. This is an ideological war. The country should not consider it a fight against injustice. The leftist ideology has lost its base, that is why all the leftists are trying to create different theories in any way to fulfill their ideology. Their aim is to create a void. Many innocent people have been hanged. There are no lawyers to play this role and such acts cannot be justified.
“They ran a parallel government. They had home ministers, food ministers in Chhattisgarh. They created a confusion and they do 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 or tehsil or district panchayat member. MLAs of their choice could win. Now, it is being said that there should be talks. I have said 50 times in every part of Bastar that ‘give up your weapons. Two, the government will rehabilitate them. But our government’s policy is clear: we can talk to those who opened fire, this is our policy.
“We used the latest technology, used location tracking and scientific call locking. Improved forensic analysis, drone surveillance, satellite imaging and AI data analysis. We had Operation Octopus in Burapahar in Bihar, Operation Double Boot in Gulma and Latehar, Operation Thunderstorm in Sarai Kila, Khunti and Singhbhum districts, Operation Bheem and Gaya in Munger and Operation Chakrabandh in Aurangabad. I was particularly interested in Telangana and “I want to mention Op Black Force on the hills. They had enough ammunition and food to fight for five years, they had 400-500 cadres,” he said.
Talking about ground difficulties and the resilience of the forces, Shah said the afternoon temperature in the area could reach 45 degrees Celsius. Shah said, “Our soldiers sweated 2-3 liters and we could give them 300 ml of water in ration. But no one complained. The operation lasted for 21 days. More than 30 Maoists were killed. The rest tried to climb down and were either killed or arrested.”
“One of the biggest reasons for the defeat of the Naxalites is that governance has reached every village. We adopted a completely government approach to development.”
The minister told the Lok Sabha that 17,500 km of roads have been sanctioned in Maoist areas and 12,000 km of roads have been constructed. The central government has spent ₹Spent Rs 20,000 crore, 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, along with 269 Eklavya Adarsh Vidyalayas, 140 ITIs, 49 SDCs and 16 skill development centres. A 240-bed super specialty hospital has opened in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh.
“For security and SRE, ₹3000 crores have been given in ten years. moreover, ₹5000 crore for special infra schemes, extended SIS ₹2000 crore more ₹Rs 4,000 crore has been spent for critical public infrastructure. Development is possible now because we have eliminated the bomb makers,” Shah said.
