'Armed Naxals wiped out, but 'Dimagi Naxals' have taken control': PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that while armed Naxalites had been eliminated from the forests, the threat of Naxalism was not over, claiming that "Dimagi Naxals" had taken control of several organisations including political parties.

Addressing security personnel while celebrating Diwali at a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Karanpur in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district, PM Modi said the country needed to identify and defeat such elements to ensure national security.

"We must remember one thing. Naxalites have been eliminated, but the threat is not yet over. While armed Naxalites have been wiped out from the forests, 'Dimagi Naxals' have taken control of several organisations. Even today, they are inciting people against the country's Constitution and democracy. These 'Dimagi Naxals' have also infiltrated several political parties and different organisations. We must identify them, defeat them and ensure the security of the nation," he said.

The prime minister's remarks come months after the Centre announced on March 31 that the country had been freed from the menace of Naxalism following the elimination of several Maoist leaders and cadres and the surrender of hundreds of others.

PM Modi described the elimination of Maoist terror as a victory for the government's policies and political will. He said his government had taken decisions that dealt a major blow to the funding networks of Naxalites and separatists, while giving security forces greater freedom to respond to attacks.

"Earlier governments had tied the hands of security forces in the fight on the ground. Maoist attacks took place, but security forces did not have the freedom to retaliate effectively. We gave security forces the freedom to take all necessary decisions," he said.

He also said the government had worked to dismantle the support networks that Left-Wing Extremism received from within the administration and the system. PM Modi said the government's objective was to ensure that no family lost a child to Maoist violence and no young person was forced to take up arms. He added that sustained security operations, alongside development initiatives, had helped win the trust of people in Naxal-affected areas.

Recalling the scale of the challenge, the prime minister said more than 230 districts across nearly 20 states had once been affected by Naxalism. He also pointed out that, for the first time in 47 years, not a single CRPF personnel had been killed in the line of duty over the past year.