India now free of Naxalism but Rahul has become one due to proximity to Maoists: Amit Shah in Lok Sabha

Shah also claimed that Indira Gandhi's tussle for power within Congress during the 1969 Presidential election during which she got the support of the Left parties and she fell into a 'firm grip of Maoists'.

New Delhi: Emphasising that one could now say that India is free of Naxalism, Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday blamed the Congress for the long spell of Left wing violence in the country and attacked its top leader Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he too has become a Naxal due to his proximity with Maoists and that people will have to respond to him through elections.

Replying to a short duration discussion on 'Efforts to Free the Country from Left Wing Extremism' in Lok Sabha, he also claimed that Indira Gandhi's tussle for power within Congress during the 1969 Presidential election during which she got the support of the Left parties and she fell into a "firm grip of Maoists".

In remarks a day before the March 31 deadline to eliminate naxalism, he said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several efforts were taken to free the country from the menace and he can "now say that naxalism has been eliminated" after 20 of the 21 CPI (Maoist) Central Committee or Polit Bureau members either surrendered, arrested or got killed while talks are on with another who is on the run.

Accusing Congress of doing nothing during its rule to tackle Naxalism, he said Maoists are almost eradicated now from Bastar in Chhattisgarh. He said power remained with the Congress for 60 of the 75 years but tribals remained deprived of development to this day and it is only with the arrival of Modi that actual development is taking place.

"The root cause of Naxalism is not the demand for development. It is an ideology that Indira-ji embraced back in 1970 in order to win the presidential election. Naxalism has spread precisely because of this Leftist ideology," he alleged.

Targeting Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul, he said the Congress leader was seen multiple times with Naxals in his long political career, including during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in which several frontal Naxal organisations participated and his meeting with Gaddar whose ideology is closely aligned with Naxalism.

"When naxal operative Hidma was killed, slogans were raised at India Gate that if one Hidma is killed, Hidma will arise from every house. A video of this was tweeted by Rahul Gandhi. From 1970 to March 2026, they supported naxals. 20,000 people were killed because of Congress' Left ideology. Being with naxals, their leader (Rahul) has become a 'naxalwadi' (naxal). The people of this country will have to respond to this in elections," he said.

Emphasising that the Modi government will not tolerate any kind of violence and take strong action against anyone indulging in such acts, he said development in naxal-infested Bastar was stalled because the shadow of red terror loomed there. "Now this shadow is lifting and Bastar is developing," he said, adding the Modi government will not spare anyone who picks up arms.

He said the Modi government is not a government that bows down to anyone's threats and it is a government committed to ensuring justice for all. He said the government's policy is to hold talks only with those who lay down their arms and those who use bullets will be answered with bullets."