Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday said India will be free from Maoists by March 31, 2026, asserting that insurgency has shrunk from 11 states to just three districts under the Narendra Modi-led government.
Shah was speaking at a ceremony for the distribution of appointment letters to over 60,000 newly recruited police constables at the Defence Expo Ground in Lucknow.
“Naxalism was once rampant across 11 states. Today, it is confined to just three districts. Mark my words: by March 31, 2026, Naxalism will be wiped out completely from the country,” Shah said.
Citing a 53% drop in Naxal-related violence in the last ten years, Shah credited the Modi government’s security strategy and sustained counter-insurgency operations, particularly in states like Chhattisgarh.
On May 21, security forces eliminated 27 Maoists in a major encounter, he noted.
The home minister also drew a sharp contrast between the present and past regimes in terms of internal security.
Referring to previous terrorist attacks in cities such as Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Coimbatore, and Delhi, Shah said that such incidents were common under Congress rule, while strong retaliation has become the norm under Prime Minister Modi.
“Pakistan tried to provoke India thrice during PM Modi's rule—at Uri, Pulwama, and Pahalgam—and received a befitting reply each time. Surgical strikes, air strikes, and most recently, Operation Sindoor, have made it clear that India's blood is not to be shed without consequence,” Shah said.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
The operation saw the Indian armed forces carry out precision strikes on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing over 100 militants linked to groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Shah also lauded the scale of the Uttar Pradesh Police’s recruitment drive, calling it the largest in the state’s history. A total of 60,244 candidates—48,196 men and 12,048 women—were selected under the ‘Civil Police Direct Recruitment’ programme.
The minister said police modernisation in Uttar Pradesh began only after the formation of the BJP government in the state in 2017. “The Centre’s reforms, started in 2014, weren’t visible in UP until Yogi Adityanath became Chief Minister,” he said.
Shah also projected a confident outlook for the country’s future, stating, “India will emerge as a global leader by 2047, and Uttar Pradesh will be at the heart of this transformation.”
The event was attended by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, deputy chief ministers Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya, and other senior officials.