Amit Shah says talks on with only active top Maoist, attacks Congress for Red ties

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said talks were on with the only active member of the CPI (Maoist) central committee, while others have either surrendered or have been killed.

Though he didn’t mention a name, the reference seemed to be to Mihir Besra, who is active in Jharkhand region and whose surrender will bring the Centre to the brink of fulfilling its vow to get rid of Maoism. Two days before the deadline set by the Centre for the eradication of Naxalites, Shah said India has become “Naxal-mukt” and called it the top achievement of the Modi govt, even as he accused Congress of being cosy with Naxal supporters.

Shah attacks Cong for Red ties, hints UPA fall was turning point

Shah also said it was fallacious to argue that Naxalism was rooted in justice for tribals and the lack of development in tribal areas. It was the Naxalites who were responsible for the lack of development, he said.

Replying to a discussion in Lok Sabha on the “efforts to free the country from Left-wing extremism”, Shah hailed police forces of states and CRPF’s CoBRA (Commando Battalions for Resolute Action) for heroically taking on the Naxal challenge. However, he laid equal stress on what he called the political will of the Modi government, suggesting that the change of the UPA government was a turning point.

Shah alleged that the leader of the opposition in the LS, Rahul Gandhi, had shared public space with Naxals and their sympathisers on many occasions, and Naxal outfits had joined his Bharat Jodo Yatra. He said that during a protest at India Gate, slogans in favour of Naxal leader Hidma, who was killed by police, were raised, and Rahul Gandhi had posted that video on social media.

Shah claimed the national advisory council of Sonia Gandhi under the UPA governement had members associated with Naxalites, and accused then Congress minister Jairam Ramesh of writing to the state for the release of Mahest Raut, a PM rural development fellow, who was arrested for Naxal links.

He also mentioned the inclusion of Binayak Sen — known for being “pro-Naxal” — in the Planning Commission under UPA, and claimed that Congress had itself become Naxal by being with Maoists. Shah said that success against Naxals in Chhattisgarh was solely because of one factor — the defeat of the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress govt in the state.

The home minister said that the Grey Hounds, a specialised anti-Naxal unit of Congress-governed Telangana, had declined to join the central forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations in the hills, even though they agreed to cooperate in nabbing the ultras when they came to the plains. Shah said that when 76 police personnel were killed by Naxalites during UPA, students in JNU had celebrated it by dancing on the map of India.

Referring to “intellectuals” and “urban naxals”, he said that 2,000 articles have been written advocating talks with Naxalites, but no articles have been written about the victims of Maoists. “I don’t accept these double standards of humanity,” he said.

Recalling Salwa Judum, which he noted was started by Congress neta Mahendra Karma, Shah said Justice Sudarshan Reddy gave a judgment that disbanded Salwa Judum, and the opposition made Reddy its vice-presidential candidate in 2025. He accused Reddy of “ideological bias” and slammed the HC judgment. He called Naxalism an ideological armed struggle opposed to democracy, with the motto being “power flows from the barrel of the gun”.

Left parties in India were born out of the Communist revolutions in Russia and China, Shah said, adding that the Left whose roots lie outside India — with inspiration being a foreigner, Mao — cannot think of the concerns of Indians. Shah said the Modi govt follows the policy of “bullet for bullet” with those who don’t surrender, and the benefits of development are being taken to homes in Bastar.

He said 20,000 youths were killed, and many were disabled because of Naxalism, and ex-PM Manmohan Singh had called it the biggest internal security problem.

Shah put eradication of Naxalism alongside resolution of “pending issues” like removal of Article 370, construction of Ram Temple, enactment of GST and CAA, and women’s reservation.



He said if lack of development was the reason for Maoism, then many other places could have become Naxal-affected. He said “govt reach was limited” in the “red corridor” in the initial years of independence, and Naxalites misled gullible tribals.

He said 706 Naxalites were killed, 2,218 were arrested, and 4,839 surrendered.

PM praises Shah’s reply on Red debate

PM Narendra Modi has lauded home minister Amit Shah’s reply to a discussion on Left Wing Extremism (LWE) as outstanding, saying he brought forth important facts, the historical context and the government’s efforts to eradicate the menace over the last decade. “For decades, the retrograde Maoist Ideology had an adverse impact on the development of several regions
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