Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with Navy officials on the flight deck of INS Vikrant, with MiG-29 fighter jets in the background, during his visit to naval personnel on the occasion of Diwali, off the coast of Goa and Karwar.
Credit: Handout via PTI Photo
Mumbai: Asserting that Naxalism is at the fag end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that in districts where Naxal terror once suppressed even the "mention of the word Constitution, the mantra of Swadeshi now resonates".
“For the first time, over 100 districts are celebrating Diwali free from the grip of Maoism,” Modi said while celebrating Diwali with armed forces on board Indian Navy’s indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast.
The Prime Minister said that record sales and purchases was witnessed in these areas during the GST Bachat Utsav launched during the Navratri festivities.
"Due to the valour and courage of India’s security forces, the nation has achieved a major milestone...the eradication of Maoist terrorism,” he said, adding that India is now on the verge of complete freedom from Naxal-Maoist extremism.
The Centre has set March 31, 2026 deadline to end Naxalism and have asked the Communist Party of India (Maoist) commanders and cadres to surrender and join the mainstream or face action.
In 2024 itself, around 1,000 to 1,200 Naxals had surrendered and they are being rehabilitated.
“Before 2014, around 125 districts were affected by Maoist violence; today, this number has reduced to just 11, with only 3 districts remaining significantly impacted,” the Prime Minister said.
Modi emphasized that millions of people, after generations of fear, are now joining the mainstream of development.
“In regions where Maoists once obstructed the construction of roads, schools, hospitals, and mobile towers, highways are now being built and new industries are emerging,” the PM said and affirmed that this success has been made possible by the dedication, sacrifice, and bravery of India’s security forces.