Asserting that the Narendra Modi government has a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the Rajya Sabha on Friday that Naxalism in the country would be eradicated by March 31 next year.

Replying during the discussion on the working of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shah said the government used ‘Sanwad, Suraksha, Samanvaya’ — conversation, security, coordination — to control the menace.

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”When the BJP came to power in Chhattisgarh in December 2023, after that, 380 naxals were killed in just a year while 30 naxals killed yesterday have not been added to this. As many as 1,194 were arrested and 1045 surrendered. The number (of active naxals) went down by 2619. In these operations, 26 security personnel died. This is the same Chhattisgarh, same Police, same CRPF, and same Government of India. It was just the Congress Government in power there…This is a question of approach.”

He said ”It is the same Chhattisgarh, same police, same CRPF, but difference of a BJP and Congress government.” ”We will erase Naxalism before March 31, 2026,” he promised.

Hitting out at the erstwhile Congress government for being soft on terror, Home Minister Shah said, “The Modi government has a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism. Earlier, no action was taken after terror attacks, and people used to forget about them. Terror attacks took place even in Uri and Pulwama, but within 10 days, we conducted surgical strikes and air strikes against Pakistan.”

He noted that while they are trying to bring progress everywhere, some places may have been left behind, in the context of attacks by Maoists. He added that road connectivity and internet reach have been improved in Naxalite areas and that new banks and ATMs have been opened.

Several youths have left their weapons and joined the mainstream, said Mr Shah, adding that agreements were brokered with extremist groups in States such as Assam.

He said when the Narendra Modi Government was elected to power in 2014, it received several legacy issues from the previous government. ”The security and development of this country were always challenged due to three main issues — terrorism in J&K, Leftist insurgency, and the North East issue”.

He noted that if all three issues are clubbed together, around 92,000 citizens of this country were killed in four decades. He emphasised that for the elimination of these issues, a well-planned effort was never attempted but PM Narendra Modi made those efforts after coming to power.”

Mr Shah said on August 5, 2019, PM Modi abrogated Article 370. He said, “The number of terror incidents (in Jammu and Kashmir) has reduced from 7,217 between 2004 and 2014 to 2,242 (between 2014 and 2024). Similarly, there has been a 70 per cent reduction in deaths due to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir under the Modi government.”

Due to an attractive industrial policy, Rs 12,000 crore investment was made on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir, and MoUs worth Rs 1.1 lakh crore were signed, Minister Shah informed the Elders.

HM Shah expressed his gratitude to thousands of State Police and central paramilitary force jawans who made the supreme sacrifice to strengthen the country’s internal security as well as borders.

He said when Law and Order are taken care of by states, after 76 years, there is now a situation when several kinds of crime do not remain limited to state borders, they are both inter-state as well as multi-state — like narcotics, cybercrime, organised crime gangs, hawala.

PM Narendra Modi made long overdue changes to the MHA at once to ensure national security, he informed.

Compared with the erstwhile Congress rule, Mr Shah said, “…What happens when there is a government which considers Naxalism a political issue and what happens when a government, which works for security as well as development, comes to power.”

Vowing to fight the drug menace, he said. Mr Shah, ”It is our policy that we won’t let one-kilo drugs enter the country, or one-kilo drugs exit the country.”

Highlighting missions Sagar Manthan 1, 2, and 3, he noted that they have also done joint operations with States such as Gujarat, Punjab, and Karnataka. Through the Spandan mission, they have aided those with drug addiction, he said, also adding that they have opened a hotline.