Shah lauds crpf’s role in tackling naxalism says fight now in final stage

Shah lauds crpf’s role in tackling naxalism says fight now in final stage

‘The extremists were creating hindrances in the construction of schools, roads, hospitals and fair price shops and installation of mobile towers… credit for removing these goes to the CRPF’.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the fight against Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) seems to be in the final stages and the supreme sacrifices made by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel while battling the menace has a big role in the victory.

Speaking at the 84th Raising Day event of the CRPF, he said the security forces have put up a strong fight against the LWE in the last nine years and achieved success on all fronts.

Highlighting the role of the CRPF in the fight against Naxalism, he said the credit of wiping out hindrances in the path of development in Maoist-hit areas goes to the CRPF personnel.

“The victory saga will be written in golden letters remembering the sacrifices of the CRPF personnel and their families,” Mr. Shah said, addressing the relatives of the martyred personnel present on the occasion.

“As I am in Bastar today, I want to tell you that our security forces have fought strongly against the LWE…They have not only attained victory in pushing them (LWE elements) on the back foot, but also facilitated development reach the tribals,” he said.

“The extremists were creating hindrances in the construction of schools, roads, hospitals and fair price shops and installation of mobile towers. As the home minister, I wanted to say the credit to wipe out these hindrances only goes to the CRPF personnel,” he added.

Joint task force

Mr. Shah said the CRPF has also displayed an example of organisational skill by establishing coordination with the local police and carrying out joint operations against the activities of the Naxalites.

To check the inter-State movement of the Naxalites, the CRPF constituted joint task forces in coordination with the police of different States, set up joint camps and established security in tri-junctions areas, he added.

He also claimed that the security vacuum in Bihar and Jharkhand was also about to come to an end and it became possible due to the CRPF and the local police(involved in anti-Maoist operations there.

Incidents of the LWE violence declined by 76% in the country as compared to 2010 and at the same time loss of lives (of civilians and security personnel) also went down by 78%, he added.

Hailing the role of the CRPF in peaceful conduct of elections, he said democracy can only survive when it is protected in a dedicated manner.

Noting the role of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), he said the two agencies have been acting strongly to stop funding to the LWE.

Modernisation plan

Highlighting the measures taken by the Central government in the interest of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), Mr. Shah said the Modi government has been focusing on the modernisation of the CRPF.

He said people of the country expect that the force will continue to fight diligently till the LWE is wiped out from the country.

He noted that the CRPF’s annual celebration is being held for the first time in an LWE-affected area and that too in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.

The event was held at Karanpur camp of the 201st battalion of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite unit of the CRPF, which is located around 20 km away from Jagdalpur, the headquarter of Bastar district.

CRPF Director General Sujoy Lal Thaosen also spoke on the occasion.