Give up arms or face action, Shah tells Maoists

Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday urged Maoists to surrender and give up arms or else be ready to face "strong action" by the security forces as he addressed a sporting event in Chhattisgarh's Bastar.

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Shah was attending the Bastar Olympics, an event in Chhattisgarh's Maoist hotbed Bastar region's Jagdalpur on Sunday, when he said, "My appeal to Naxals is to come forward, give up arms, surrender and join the mainstream. Your rehabilitation is our responsibility." He said that the Chhattisgarh Police is committed to fulfilling "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve to make India Naxal-free by March 31, 2026".

The minister also hit out at the Congress party, accusing it of slow action against Maoists and said "since our government came to power in Chhattisgarh a year ago, action against the extremists gained momentum, resulting in the killing of 287 Naxals in the past year".

He mentioned that during the same period over 900 Maoists were captured by the security forces while 836 surrendered.