'Deeply satisfied': PM Modi lauds anti-Naxal ops in Chhattisgarh; vows to end Red terror

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the number of Maoist-affected districts in India has declined sharply from 125 to just three in the last 11 years, adding that the “day is not far” when the entire country, including Chhattisgarh, will be free from the Naxal menace.

Speaking at the Chhattisgarh Rajat Mahotsav in Nava Raipur to mark 25 years of the state’s formation, PM Modi hailed its growth, saying the seed planted 25 years ago has now grown into a “vat vriksh (banyan tree)” of development.



As per news agency ANI, PM Modi said he was “deeply satisfied” that Chhattisgarh was freeing itself from the “clutches of Naxal violence” which had caused immense suffering for over five decades.

“For 50 years, the people here suffered unbearable pain (because of Naxalism). Those who show off the Constitution and shed crocodile tears in the name of social justice have committed injustice to you for vested interests,” he said.

The Prime Minister accused previous governments of neglecting tribal areas. “For years, tribal villages lacked roads, schools and hospitals. The existing ones were blown up with bombs. Doctors and teachers were killed. Those who ruled the country for decades abandoned you while they enjoyed life in their air-conditioned offices,” he said.

PM Modi said that since 2014, the government had worked with determination to end Maoist terror. “I could not (bear to) see mothers crying for their children. In 2014, when you gave us the opportunity, we resolved to free India from Maoist terror. Today the results are before the nation,” he said.

He highlighted recent surrenders of Maoists across Chhattisgarh, noting, “In Kanker, more than 20 Naxalites laid down arms recently. Earlier in October, over 200 Maoists surrendered in Bastar. They have now accepted the Indian Constitution and chosen the path of peace.”

PM Modi said villages that once feared violence are now seeing progress. “In Bijapur’s Chikapalli village, electricity came after 70 years. In the Abujhmad region, a school is being built for the first time since Independence. In Puvarti, once a terror hub, the tricolour now flies proudly where the red flag once stood,” he said.

Reiterating his optimism, PM Modi asserted, “Eleven years ago, 125 districts across India were affected by Maoist extremism, but today the number has declined to only three. I guarantee that the day is not far when every corner of Chhattisgarh and India will be completely free from Maoist terror.”

As per the Union home ministry data, the three districts still most affected are Bijapur, Sukma and Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh. The government aims to make India entirely free from Left-Wing Extremism by March 31, 2026.

“Despite facing the challenge of Naxalism for 25 years, Chhattisgarh kept moving forward. Now, with the end of Naxalism, our pace of development will accelerate,” the Prime Minister added.
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