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Priority is to ensure rebels give up arms: Shah to anti-Maoist op chiefs
The officer said that Shah has directed all agencies to list their requirements to ensure LWE is eliminated by the government’s tagetted deadline of March 2026.
Union home minister Amit Shah held a meeting with top officials of all security forces engaged in anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh on Monday, during which he reviewed ongoing operations and plans for the following year, officials privy to the details of the meeting said.
During the short meeting, hours before he returned to the national capital at the end of his three-day visit to left-wing extremism affected state, the home minister told the chiefs of the Chhattisgarh police, CRPF and BSF that the “priority is to ensure that Naxals surrender and join mainstream”, the officials said.
“It was a short meeting. The message was simple and clear. The HM told the forces that the priority is to ensure that Naxals surrender and join mainstream. We were told that messages should be passed on to the Naxal cadres who wished to surrender. They will be welcomed by the state government and be eligible for all benefits. But if they resort to violence then the response too be appropriate,” one of the officials cited above said, requesting anonymity.
The officer said that Shah has directed all agencies to list their requirements to ensure LWE is eliminated by the government’s tagetted deadline of March 2026.
Hours before holding the meeting, Shah made an impromptu visit to a forward operating base in Bijapur district’s Gundam village. The village was taken over by security forces in February this year after over three decades of being under the control of Maoists.
“In this meeting, the home minister interacted directly with the villagers and Naxals under a tree. It was an impromptu trip. He spoke to the constabulary of the CRPF directly during his meeting. He told them to write directly to the government whatever they require, without worrying about the protocol. He said no disciplinary action would be taken for writing such request letters. The home minister said the government would work to provide whatever they require in the jungle,” the officer added.
During the meeting the agencies also shared details of places where the forces are set to open camps and establish their control in the area.
On Saturday morning, ahead of Shah’s visit, CRPF personnel set up their forward operating base (FOB) at the Golaguda village, which is considered a bastion of Battalion 1 of People’s Liberation Guerilla Army.
The anti-Maoist operations in 2025 are critical because the Centre has vowed to end Left Wing Extremism from the country by March 2026. It is based on this target that the forces have launched an aggressive campaign against Maoist groups, which have led to the deaths of at least 287 Maoists in gunfights with security forces, arrested over a 1000 and got 837 Maoists cadres to surrender in the past one year.
