JAGDALPUR: Home minister Amit Shah delivered a firm message to Left-wing extremists during the closing ceremony of Bastar Olympics Sunday, urging them to shun violence and choose rehabilitation.
“Give up the path of violence and we shall take care of your rehabilitation or ignore our appeal for surrender and face resolute action by the security forces… I appeal to you all with folded hands to surrender. Have trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and join the mainstream. If you give up arms, then your rehabilitation is our responsibility. But we will not allow you to destroy peace in the land of Goddess Danteshwari any more. If you give up arms, we shall welcome you with open arms but if you continue on the path of violence, the forces will tackle you head on,” Shah said as the battle against Naxals reaches their last bastion deep inside Abujhmad region in Chhattisgarh.
The action against Maoists is part of a decisive war to achieve the Modi govt’s goal of a Left-wing extremism-free India by March 2026.
Shah: Anti-Maoist fight intensified after BJP took office in Chhattisgarh
Shah said the fight had gathered pace after installation of a BJP govt in Chhattisgarh. As many as 287 Maoists were eliminated by counter-Naxal forces, while 837 surrendered and 952 were arrested in the past one year, said the minister, who also presented the ‘President’s Colours’ to Chhattisgarh Police earlier in the day.
Later in the afternoon, Shah met surrendered Naxalites from several states. He lauded Chhattisgarh govt’s surrender policy as the most attractive in the country.
Shah said the Modi govt’s multi-pronged strategy of fortifying the security cordon in Maoist-hit zones (by setting up forward operating bases there), devising an attractive surrender and rehabilitation policy for those willing to give up arms and also pushing development and welfare schemes in areas liberated from Maoists’ hold, had helped bring down deaths of security forces and civilians by 73% and 70%, respectively, in the past 10 years.
Talking of the road ahead, Shah assured that the govt was committed to creating more avenues for local youth, including surrendered Naxals, by promoting small-scale industries, dairy and other cooperatives, tendu patta reform, etc.
He said of the 15,000 dwellings approved under PM Awas Yojana for Chhattisgarh, 9,500 were for Bastar region alone.
Shah said the Bastar Olympics, with 1.6 lakh participants, told the tale of ongoing transformation of the once Maoist-dominated belt and would lay the foundation of lasting peace and development. “The event is the last nail in the coffin of Naxalism,” he said.
“Bastar is changing. And when I visit Bastar again for the 2026 Bastar Olympics, I am confident I will be able to say that Bastar has changed,” he added.
Highlighting the unparalleled natural beauty of Bastar, Shah also declared the govt’s intent to develop the region into an attractive tourist destination. “I have visited Chitrakote waterfall. Bastar’s natural beauty is boundless. I assure you that this region will one day get more tourists than Kashmir,” he said.
