Modi: Urban Naxal Ecosystem ‘Suppressed Discourse’ on Maoist Terror During Opposition Rule
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed that the country will be completely free from Naxalism and Maoist violence soon. He said, substantial strides have been made in tackling Maoist terrorism in the last 11 years. Mr. Modi said this while speaking during an World Summit event in New Delhi yesterday.
The Prime Minister said, Maoist terrorism is a great injustice and a grave sin against the nation’s youth. He said, thousands of Naxalites have surrendered over the past decade, abandoning the path of violence, including 303 in the last 75 hours alone. He said, his government has worked with full sensitivity to reintegrate misguided youth into the mainstream since 2014. He said, 11 years ago, over 125 districts were affected by Maoist violence which reduced to just 11 districts. The Prime Minister said, maoists are now returning to the mainstream of development and openly acknowledging that they were on the wrong path. He said, this Diwali, regions freed from Maoist terrorism will celebrate with renewed joy, lighting lamps of happiness.
Pointing towards the devastating impact of Maoist terrorism over the past five decades, Mr. Modi said, thousands of lives were lost, including many security personnel and young citizens in the naxalite violence. He said, Naxalites obstructed the construction of schools and hospitals, and even bombed existing facilities. He said a vast region of the country and a large segment of the population remained deprived of development for decades. He underscored that this prolonged neglect disproportionately affected tribal communities, who bore the brunt of this violence and underdevelopment.
Criticizing opposition, the Prime Minister said, the ecosystem of Urban Naxals had become so dominant that the rest of the country remained unaware of the extent of Maoist terrorism during the opposition rule. Mr. Modi said that Urban Naxals occupied key institutions and actively worked to suppress discourse on Maoist violence.