New Delhi: Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in India will soon become history due to the tireless efforts of police and security forces, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day.
The minister laid a wreath and received a salute from a ceremonial guard at the National Police Memorial in central Delhi’s Chanakyapuri.
“The success of the campaign against Naxalites can we assessed from the fact that the Maoists, who once took up arms against the state, are today surrendering and integrating themselves into the mainstream of development,” Singh said.
“Due to the tireless efforts of the security forces, this problem is now on the verge of becoming history. All our security personnel deserve to be congratulated for this,” he added.
Police Commemoration Day is observed every year in the memory of 10 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel who were killed on this day in 1959 in an ambush by Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Hot Spring area.
“For a long time, Naxalism has been a problem for our internal security. There was a time when many districts in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra were affected by Naxalism. Schools in villages were closed, there were no roads and people lived in fear,” the minister said.
“We resolved to not let this problem persist any longer. The way our police, CRPF, BSF and local administration worked together in an organised manner is commendable,” he said.
The defence minister said the regions that were once “Naxal hubs” are now turning into educational hubs.
The parts of India that were once “infamous” as the “red corridor” have now transformed into growth corridor. The government has been able to bring about such changes with the help of the police and security forces, he said.
Saying that the police not only have to fight crime now, but also perception, Singh highlighted the resources and budget for modernisation of police forces being provided by the Narendra Modi government.