Naxals 'biggest violators' of human rights of tribals: Amit Shah

New Delhi: Dubbing Left Wing Extremism as the "biggest hurdle" to development in the tribal region, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday asked naxal-infested states to hold a review of development and security initiatives at regular intervals to ensure that the menace is eradicated by the deadline set for March 2026.

At a review meeting of naxal-infested states attended by Chief Ministers, he also listed the success in containing the Naxals over the years and how the extremists deprived lakhs of tribals of the fruits of development while calling them the "biggest violators" of human rights of tribals.

The meeting, which discussed anti-naxal operations and development initiatives, comes days after 31 Maoists were killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh. The states affected by the menace include Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Shah instructed Chief Ministers in naxal-affected states to hold a meeting every month to review the progress of development projects while asking Directors General of Police to hold a similar initiative every 15 days to look at the security scenario. He also wanted the DGPs to stay a night with paramilitary forces in affected districts for a review, as it would help in better results.

"The biggest hurdle for development in tribal villages is the naxals. They do not allow education and health facilities or banking and mobile connectivity to reach these hamlets. Our aim should be to ensure that the fruits of development reach the last man. For that, we need to eliminate naxalism. There should be zero tolerance against Naxals. There should be 100% saturation of development projects," Shah told the meeting.

He said the authorities should look at providing 3Cs -- road connectivity, mobile and financial connectivity.

Claiming that the Left Wing Extremists are the "biggest hurdle" to development in tribal regions, Shah said eight crore tribals are deprived of their rights due to the Naxals. "There is no bigger human rights violation than this. Thousands of tribals have been killed by the IEDs placed by the naxals. Several tribals were killed illegally. Development in these areas is stalled," he said.

Listing the successes in the fight against the Naxals, he said the deaths due to Naxal violence had for the first time come down below 100-mark in 2022. The naxal incidents have also come down drastically, he said adding 14 top naxals were neutralised.

"In the past ten years, 544 fortified police stations have been constructed while 15,300 mobile towers have been erected. Violent incidents have come down to 700 in a year," he added.