Maoists would have been eradicated had Chhattisgarh govt cooperated: Defence minister Rajnath Singh

KANKER (CHHATTISGARH): Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that steps taken by the central government have succeeded in curbing left-wing extremism (LWE) across the country, and the problem is now limited to a few districts, including some parts of Chhattisgarh.
"Left-wing extremism would have been completely eradicated in Chhattisgarh too, if the state government had taken prompt action against it in the last four years.Today, the people of Chhattisgarh have to bear the brunt of this," the defence minister said.
The Congress has hit back at the defence minister over this allegation. Congress communication head Sushil Anand Shukla pointed out that Union home minister Amit Shah, during his recent visit to Chhattisgarh, had said that the coordinated efforts of the state and Centre have led to 80% success in tackling the Maoist menace in Chhattisgarh. "The defence minister is telling only lies," he said.
Congress govt failed to act against conversion: Rajnath
Rajnath also took a dig at the Congress government, saying that it was a "patronizing force" for religious conversion in the state. "Apart from ignoring Leftist extremism, the Chhattisgarh government has also failed to take effective action against conversion. Converting innocent tribals of Bastar by allurement is a matter of concern for the country and society. This practice should be stopped at any cost. If needed the central government will provide support," he said.
"I have a long list of scams. Gothan scam, ration scam, liquor scam and then Congress's favorite coal scam also took place in Chhattisgarh," he said, adding that in nine years of the Modi government, not even a single corruption charge was levelled against it.
Congress has resorted to trial-and-error method by appointing senior Congress leader T S Singhdeo as deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Rajnath said, adding, this experiment cannot save Congress in the assembly elections as people have already decided to show them the door.
Rajnath said that people of Chhattisgarh were struggling with "Congress misrule" in 2003 when he was made the BJP in-charge. "People elected Raman Singh as their chief minister who scripted a new chapter in development of the state though he had the double-engine sarkar for only five years. Many may differ in my opinion, but I can claim Raman Singh transformed the state into a developing one. The situation of 2003 is back again in the state under this Congress government," Rajnath said.
"The people of Chhattisgarh had believed in some promises made by Congress in its manifesto in 2018, but now they repent their mistake after experiencing the consequences of electing the Congress government. Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has taken the state on the back foot despite adequate support from the central government," he alleged.
The Congress ruled for 79 years but never thought of tribals, the BJP veteran alleged. "Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were formed for the development of tribal people when Atal Behari Vajpayee was the PM. The Vajpayee government created a separate mantralaya for tribals," he said.
"Has anyone thought that a tribal woman was made President? This was made possible by the Modi government," Rajnath said, adding that PM Modi has made a separate Rs 90,000 crore budget for the tribal community.
Tribal people were actively involved in the fight against British rule, but their contribution wasn't recognized until now, he alleged, adding: "We are introducing their contribution to the work world. I bow before Gundadhur, the tribal leader who bravely fought against British."
Rajnath met Padma Shri Ajay Mandavi who has changed the lives of more than 350 people by making them self-dependent.
Rajnath said that India's status on international level has increased manifold unlike a decade ago. Even the USA has not been able to provide Corona vaccines to all its 30-32 crore citizens while India has provided vaccines free of cost to its 140 crore people, he remarked, adding that India has also supplied Covid vaccines to 120 nations.
Rajnath warned neighbouring countries indulging in promoting cross-border terrorism: "Do not play with India. We will not only hit you here, if needed we will also hit in your home."
Such is the stature of PM Modi that US President Joe Biden sought his autograph, Rajnath said, adding that the Ukraine war for "halted four and a half hours" for the evacuation of Indian students because of PM Modi's call to Russian President Vladimir Putin.