Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said there has been a significant decline in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) incidents during the Narendra Modi-led Government's tenure.
Shah made the remarks while chairing the 23rd meeting of Central Zonal Council in Bhopal. After the formation of the Modi government, besides stringently tackling the LWE problem, many important steps have been taken for the development Naxal-affected areas, Shah said.
“This has yielded good results. When LWE violence was at its peak in 2009, the number of militant violent incidents was 2,258, which decreased to 509 in 2021,” he said. “In 2009, altogether 1,005 people died in extremist violence while 147 people died in 2021. LWE violent acts on police stations have also decreased. There were 96 such incidents in 2009 which reduced to 46 in 2021,” an official statement quoted Shah as saying. The Centre is further strengthening security forces in LWE-affected areas, he said, adding 40 new security camps have been opened in the last three years and 15 more are to be opened. “This is a great achievement. The Centre, along with the states, is committed to eliminate the LWE problem,” he said.
The Central Zonal Council comprises Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. These states are important for their geographical location, contribution to GDP and national development, he said. Shah, who is also the Cooperation Minister, said Modi has always worked to strengthen the spirit of cooperative federalism.