NEW DELHI: While underlining that the March 31, 2026 deadline to end armed Naxalism would be met, home minister What Shah has rejected the recent “misleading” statement by CPI(Maoist) offering to lay down arms and seeking a ceasefire, saying there shall be no ceasefire at the security forces’ end.“For those who wish to surrender, no ceasefire is required. Lay down arms, the police will not fire a single bullet at you…you will, in fact, be re-established (rehabilitated),” he said, while addressing the valedictory session of ‘Bharat Manthan 2025: Naxal Mukt Bharat’ conclave, organised by the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Foundation, here on Sunday.While stressing that armed Naxalism will end in Mar 2026, the home minister warned that the fight against Left-wing extremism (LWE) will not be over until elements in civil society offering it ideological, legal and funding support are identified, understood and weaned off.Shah took a dig at Left parties for “jumping” at and endorsing the CPI(Maoist) “ceasefire offer”, asking them why their sympathies, and those of a section of civil society and the media, lie with the Maoists who engage in wanton killing of innocent tribals and block development and welfare initiatives, infrastructure works, education and governance in ‘Red corridor’ areas. “Why are your thoughts selectively with the Maoists and not with their victims?” he asked.Recalling the rise of Maoist forces, he said that while the influence of People’s War Group (PWG) had spread across several states, it somehow ended in West Bengal the day the Left came to power in the state. He indicated that this was no coincidence. Talking of the CPI(Maoist) vision of creating a Red corridor from ‘Pashupati to Tirupati’, he said 17% of the country’s area was once under the influence of Naxalism, compared to 3.3% hit by insurgency in the Northeast and 1% by terrorism in J&K.Taking a dig at Maoist sympathisers in civil society – often labelled as ‘urban Naxals’ Shah said: “Those who write articles sympathising and siding with the violent Maoists who reject the Constitution, legal processes and democratically elected govts, please rise above ideology and put the nation first. The governance vacuum in LWE-hit areas is not the cause of armed Naxalism but the result of Maoists blocking development and welfare activities from reaching the poor tribals for several decades.“The home minister shared that in the past two years of BJP rule in Chhattisgarh, 2,106 Maoists had surrendered, 1,770 Naxalites were arrested and 560 were neutralised . He underlined that a comparison of the ten-year regime of the Manmohan Singh govt (2004-2014) and ten years of rule by Narendra Modi govt (2014-24) showed that fatalities of security forces were down by 73% and that of civilians by 74% in LWE areas.Stating that the “scattered” and “response-driven” approach of previous regimes was replaced by the Modi govt with a “unified and ruthless” strategy, Shah said: “Those who lay down arms and surrender will be given a red-carpet welcome. But for those who continue to use arms to kill civilians, it is my govt’s duty to confront them and defend the innocent…This is our no-confusion policy, and we have given a free hand to the Central forces and state police, while choking the Maoists’ arms supply lines and funding.” Thanks to targeted operations by uniformly trained Central and state anti-Naxal forces, forensic investigations, location and mobile tracking, social media analysis of Maoist supporters and resistance to the media narrative in Maoists’ favour, 108 senior Naxalites had been neutralised in the past two years, he added.
