A high-level meeting convened by Union Home Minister (UHM) Amit Shah with Chief Ministers of Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE]-affected States at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on September 26 decided to intensify the anti-Naxal operations and choke the flow of funds to the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), reports The Pioneer. The three-hour-long meeting with Chief Ministers from six States and top officials of four States also discussed actions to be taken against the frontal organisations of the Maoists, filling up the security vacuum, concerted action by the Enforcement Directorate, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the State Police. The Chief Ministers who attended the meeting were Naveen Patnaik (Odisha), K Chandrashekar Rao (Telangana), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra) and Hemant Soren (Jharkhand), official sources said, adding, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan did not attend the meeting. Their States were represented by senior officials. According to sources, focused investigation and prosecution of cases, action against front organisations, coordination amongst States, capacity building of State intelligence branches and special forces of the States, construction of fortified Police Stations were other issues discussed at the meeting. The UHM reviewed the security situation and ongoing operations against Maoists and development projects being carried out in the Naxalism-affected areas, the sources said.
According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA)’s data, Maoist violence has reduced considerably in the country and the menace is prevalent now in just about 45 Districts, adds The Tribune. However, a total 90 Districts in the country are considered Maoist-affected and are covered under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme of the Ministry. The Naxal problem were reported in 61 Districts in 2019 and in only about 45 Districts in 2020. About 380 security personnel, 1,000 civilians and 900 Naxals were killed in different violence in LWE-affected areas since 2015 till 2020. A total of about 4,200 Naxals have also surrendered during the same period, the data said.