Amit Shah To Review Security Situation In 8 Naxal-Hit States Next Week

File Photo of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. (ANI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to review on Monday the security situation of the Naxal-affected states with the chief ministers of eight states hit by the menace.

According to an official statement, the meeting will be attended by the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. The meeting will be held in the national capital.

Due to the strategy of the Narendra Modi government, the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence has come down by 72 per cent while there is an 86 per cent decline in deaths in 2023 as compared to 2010. The Naxals are fighting their last battle now, the statement said.

Besides Chief Ministers, the meeting will also see the presence of five Union ministers of the ministries closely involved with providing development support to the LWE-affected states. The deputy national security adviser and senior officers from the Centre, states, and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will also participate in the deliberations.

As per the statement, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of the home minister, the central government is committed to completely rooting out the menace of the LWE by March 2026. The central government is providing all possible assistance to the LWE-affected state governments in fighting the menace of naxalism.

The former BJP chief had last chaired a review meeting with the chief ministers of the LWE-affected states on October 6, 2023. During that meeting, the home minister had given comprehensive directions with regard to the elimination of LWE.

The year 2024, so far, has witnessed unprecedented success by the security forces in the elimination of armed LWE cadres, the statement said. So far, 202 LWE cadres have been eliminated this year, and 723 LWE cadres have surrendered while 812 have been arrested. The number of LWE-affected districts has come down to just 38 in 2024, it said.

The central government has taken several steps, including impetus on road and mobile connectivity, to take developmental schemes to the remotest areas of the affected states, according to the statement.

A total of 14,400 km of roads have been constructed, and nearly 6,000 mobile towers have been installed in the LWE-affected areas so far, the statement said.

(With PTI Inputs)