In the review meeting, it was revealed that the year 2022 saw the lowest incidents of violence and casualties in Naxal-hit regions in the past four decades.
In a determined bid to eliminate Left Wing Extremism (LWE) from the country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting to assess the security situation in LWE-affected states. Shah affirmed the government's commitment to eradicate Naxalism, referring to it as a curse to humanity. He set an ambitious goal to completely eliminate Left Wing Extremism within the next two years, emphasising the need to uproot it in all its forms. He said “Naxalism is a curse to humanity and we are resolved to uproot it in all its forms,”
Present at the review meeting were chief ministers from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand, along with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and representatives from Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
Officials highlighted significant improvements in the LWE security situation over the last five years, credited to the implementation of the ‘National Policy and Action Plan to address LWE' approved by the central government in 2015. The strategy includes a multipronged approach involving security measures, development initiatives, and safeguarding the rights of local communities.
This steadfast policy implementation has resulted in a consistent decline in LWE violence across the nation, with a remarkable 90% reduction in deaths of security forces and civilians in 2022 compared to the peak of 2010.
Data provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs depicted a decline in LWE-related incidents and casualties between 2004 and 2023 (till June 15, 2023). The data showed a significant decrease from 17,679 incidents and 6,984 deaths between 2004 and 2014 to 7,649 incidents and 2,020 deaths from 2014 to June 15, 2023.
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