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New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday praised the police, CRPF, BSF and local administration for their “commendable” and “tireless” efforts to eliminate Maoism in India.
He said that Maoism will be eliminated by March 2026 and also told how a wave of development is now visible in Maoist affected areas.
Singh paid tribute to the martyrs on Police Memorial Day at the National Police Memorial. On this day in 1959, ten brave policemen lost their lives in an ambush by heavily armed Chinese soldiers at Hot Springs in Ladakh. Since then, it is celebrated every year as Police Memorial Day.
Addressing police personnel on the occasion, Singh said, “For a long time, Naxalism has been a problem for our internal security. There was a time when Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra – many districts in these states were affected by Naxalism. Schools in villages were closed, there were no roads and people lived in fear. But we resolved that we will not let this problem happen.” “Continue further.”
He said, “The way our police, CRPF, BSF and local administration worked together in an organized manner is commendable.”
The Defense Minister expressed confidence that Maoism will be eliminated by March 2026.
He said, “Our collective efforts of the last several years are bearing fruit. The entire country is now confident that there will be no trace of this problem left by next year. For your information, let me tell you that this year too many top Naxalites have been eliminated. The number of districts affected by Left Wing Extremism has also reduced to very less and they too will be eliminated by March next year.”
He noted that areas that “once trembled with the terror of Naxalites” now have roads, hospitals, schools and colleges. He said, “The areas which were earlier Naxalite centers have now become education hubs. The areas of India which were notorious as red corridors are now turning into development corridors.”
Singh further said that the success of the campaign against Maoists can be gauged from the fact that “people who earlier took up arms against the state are now surrendering and incorporating themselves into the mainstream of development.”
Praising the security personnel for this, he said, “Thanks to the tireless efforts of the security forces, this problem is now becoming history. All our security personnel deserve congratulations for this.”
The Defense Minister said that for a long time, the contribution made by police personnel was not taken into account; However, the Modi government has changed this.
He said, “As a government, we have not only focused on the security of the country, but also on our police forces engaged in the security of the country. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, our government also established the National Police Memorial in 2018 to keep alive the memory of our police colleagues and to honor them.”
Singh further said, “Besides, we have provided the police with state-of-the-art weapons as well as better facilities. Adequate resources are also being provided to the states for modernization of police forces. Today, our police forces have modern equipment like surveillance systems, drones, forensic labs and digital policing.”
He said that India as a nation faces many challenges, but the country has limited resources to deal with those challenges.
“Therefore, we should also focus on optimum utilization of those resources. And this can be achieved only when we work with coordination and integration with the security agencies. Only a strong police force can build a strong nation and that should be our aim,” he said.
–IANS
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