Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to making Chattisgarh and the entire country, “completely free of Maoists,” He also labeled them “the biggest enemy of development, peace, and (the) bright future of youth”.

Shah’s comments come a day after Chhattisgarh security forces killed 29 Maoists, including a senior rebel leader — Shankar Rao, on whom there was a bounty of Rs 25 lakh — in a gunfight in Kanker district.

The Home Minister also congratulated the joint District Reserve Guard and Border Security Force team, which suffered three non-fatal injuries. He said the Modi government is determined to free the country from the scourge.

Shah said due to the offensive policy of the government and the efforts of security forces, Maoism has been confined to a small area now and soon Chhattisgarh and the entire country will be completely Maoist-free.

“Today, a large number of Naxalites have been killed in the operation of security forces in Chhattisgarh. I congratulate all the security personnel who made this operation successful with their bravery and wish for the speedy recovery of the brave policemen who have been injured,” Shah wrote on ‘X’ in Hindi.

 Apart from the 29 rebels killed, the DRG-BSF team also recovered a huge quantity of weapons, including Ak-47 and INSAS rifles, as well as .303 carbines and pistols.

The Narendra Modi government will eliminate Naxals from the country in a very short period of time, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted on Wednesday, according to PTI from Ahmedabad.

 The central government has been conducting incessant operations against terrorism and Naxals, he said in a statement, a day after security forces gunned down 29 Maoists in Chhattisgarh.

“I can say with conviction that operations against Naxals will continue in the times to come, and under the leadership of Modi, we will uproot Naxalism from our nation in a very short period of time,” Shah said.

The home minister said since the formation of a BJP government in Chhattisgarh three months ago, more than 80 Naxals have been eliminated, more than 125 arrested and more than 150 have surrendered.

Shah said a large number of camps of security forces have been set up in Maoist-affected areas since 2014. Since 2019, as many as 250 such camps have been set up, ending the security vacuum, he said.

Since the start of 2024, as many as 79 Naxalites have been killed in separate gun-battles with security forces in the Bastar region, a Maoist stronghold.

The violence in Kanker comes days before the

Lok Sabha election begins; the Bastar seat will vote in the first phase on

Friday, while Kanker will vote in the second round on April 26.