‘India will be completely free of Naxalism’: Amit Shah’s bold remark, sets deadline

Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said the government is on course to eliminate Naxalism nationwide before the next conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day DGP/IGP annual conference, Shah said the Centre’s sustained efforts over the past several years have significantly weakened left-wing extremism.

“Before the upcoming DGP/IGP Conference, the country will be completely free from the problem of Naxalism,” he said, adding that the Centre has strengthened its security framework over the past seven years by constructing 586 fortified police stations.

This, he said, has helped bring down the number of Naxal-affected districts from 126 in 2014 to just 11.

The home minister further added that the government has adopted a comprehensive strategy to dismantle networks of extremism, narcotics and organised crime.

“A 360-degree attack has to be launched against narcotics and organised crime,” he said, adding that a system must be created where drug traffickers and criminals do not get “even an inch of space” in the country.

The 60th edition of the closed-door conference at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Raipur will also be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and the chiefs of central police organisations, including Intelligence Bureau director Tapan Kumar Deka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to join the deliberations over the next two days.