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Sharp decline in Left Wing Extremism cases under Modi's tenure: Amit Shah
Union home minister Amit Shah was chairing the 23rd meeting of Central Zonal Council in Bhopal when he made the statements. “Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violent acts on police stations have also decreased. There were 96 such incidents in 2009 which reduced to 46 in 2021,” he added.
There has been a significant decline in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) incidents in the country under the Narendra Modi-led government and several important steps have been adopted for development of Maoist-affected areas, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Monday.
“This has yielded good results. When LWE violence was at its peak in 2009, the number of such incidents was 2,258, which decreased to 509 in 2021,” an official statement quoted Shah as saying.
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The number of deaths due to such instances of violence has also dropped drastically, according to the Union minister. “In 2009, altogether 1,005 people died in extremist violence while 147 people died in 2021,” he said.
Shah was chairing the 23rd meeting of Central Zonal Council in Bhopal when he made the statements.
“LWE violent acts on police stations have also decreased. There were 96 such incidents in 2009 which reduced to 46 in 2021,” he added.
The central government is further strengthening security forces in LWE-affected areas, Shah said. Forty new security camps have been opened in the last three years and 15 more are to be opened, he added.
Listing the steps taken for development in such areas, Shah said around 5,000 post offices and over 1,200 bank branches were set up in the last three years. More than 2,300 mobile towers are currently being installed as part of the first phase and 2,500 more will be installed in the second phase, he said.
“This is a great achievement. The Centre, along with the states, is committed to eliminate the LWE problem,” the Union minister said.
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The Central Zonal Council comprises Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. These states are important for their geographical location, contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and national development, according to Shah.
The Madhya Pradesh Congress said the decline in LWE incidents was due to the efforts of the Congress-led government in Chhattisgarh.
“It is true that LWE incidents have reduced in India and the biggest credit goes to the Congress-led Chhattisgarh government and its policy. The Congress government is working hard to weed out Maoists through development,” MP Congress Committee spokesperson KK Mishra said.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his Chhattisgarh counterpart, Bhupesh Baghel, joined the zonal council meeting virtually.
During the meeting, Adityanath said the spirit of cooperative federalism proved to be helpful in Covid-19 management. He stressed on the need for coordination at the inter-state level on issues related to cow smuggling and called for joint efforts for effective control of lumpy skin disease in cattle that has killed over 7,000 animals in seven states and one Union territory.
Baghel sought more time for completing work under Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana in Maoist-affected districts, including Bastar region. He also sought International Airport status to Raipur Airport and setting up of a plant by Indian Oil to make ethanol from paddy straw in Chhattisgarh.
The chief minister also requested the Union government to declare the minimum support price for minor millets- Kodo and Kutki.
Chhattisgarh received a small share of central taxes in the Union budget in the last three years, resulting in extreme pressure on the state’s resources, Baghel said.
“In the coming budget, the complete share of central taxes should be given to the state government,” he said, reiterating the state’s demand for restoring compensation for Goods and Services Tax (GST) and transferring tax collected as ‘additional levy’ from coal blocks to the state.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urged the Centre to provide subsidies on biofertilisers to promote natural farming.
He also proposed to develop a degraded forest through compensatory afforestation. “Keeping thisin view, the rules regarding compensatory afforestation should be relaxed,” he said.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami urged the Centre to begin a campaign to connect the seasonal rivers in the state with glacier-based rivers.
He also sought financial support for making arrangements for a large number of pilgrims in Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, Gangotri pilgrimage sites and to develop all-weather roads in the border area with China.
