LWE grew due to Cong, BJP brought peace: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was committed to ending Maoism by developing the areas that were once insurgent strongholds as he accused the Congress of "encouraging" Left Wing Extremism (LWE).

- Ritesh Mishra

Addressing a rally in the Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh, Modi said that the policies of previous Congress governments provided impetus to Maoism and hindered the state's development.

"Over the decades, Naxalism got encouragement in many states, including Chhattisgarh, due to the policies of Congress. Whichever region lagged in development, Naxalism flourished there, but what did the party that ran the government for 60 years do? It declared such districts as backward and turned away from its responsibility... The indifference of erstwhile governments was like adding fuel to the fire," he said.

The Prime Minister added that under the "double-engine" BJP government at the Centre and state, the ground situation was rapidly changing and a new era of peace was taking shape in the Maoist-affected areas. "Due to development and welfare efforts, a new era of peace is being seen in the naxal-affected areas," Modi said, adding that "Naxalism got encouragement due to the policies of the Congress".

The PM's remarks come against the backdrop of an uptick in aggression against LWE as part of the Centre's efforts to end Maoism in the country by March 31, 2026. On Saturday, security forces killed 18 Maoists in twin Chhattisgarh encounters, taking the total number of Maoists killed in the state this year to 131.