In a meeting organized by Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday, to review the counter-measures against Naxalism, many prominent faces were found to be missing. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were absent from the meeting.
The meeting was convened at the behest of Amit Shah to assess the ongoing ground operations and security measures that are being taken up in the Naxal regions of the affected states. Presently, 10 states of the Indian nation are affected by LWE (Left-wing-extremism). Bihar, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh are the affected states.
It was expected that the concerned state’s head will be there or will be represented by their representatives. Mamata Banerjee had sent DGP and Chief Secretary of Bengal from her side. While K Chandrashekhar Rao was reported to be in Hyderabad on a trip. It is also speculated that owing to “Maha Janadesh Yatra“, Devendra Fadnavis too skipped the meeting. He was also represented by DGP (Director-General of Police).
Gadchiroli in Maharashtra was one of the top agenda of the meeting as it has become one of the hotbeds of rising left-wing extremism in the region.
This was first such meeting on Naxalism under the charge of Amit Shah as Union Home Minister. The present government seems to be taking a pro-active approach in countering Naxalsim problem in the country as G Kishan Reddy (Union Minister of State for Home) apprised the media earlier that the preparations of the Modi government have resulted in a major decline of Naxalism. The government has already come up with a National Policy and Action Plan, 2015 and allocated an annual sum of Rs. 1000 crore as special central assistance for the most LWE-affected districts.
Home Ministry statistics show that a total of 8,782 cases of Naxal violence were reported during 2009-13 as against 4,969 during 2014-18. And today, only 60 districts are wrapped under the garb of Naxal terror, out of which only 10 districts account for two-third of LWE (Left-wing extremism) violence.
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