Amit Shah in Bhopal: There has been a significant drop in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) under the Narendra Modi government's tenure, said Amit Shah in Bhopal. Shah made this comment while chairing the 23rd meeting of Central Zonal Council in Bhopal. The Home Minister added that the BJP government not only tackled the LWE problem but also took many important steps for the development in Naxal-affected areas.
“This has yielded good results. When LWE violence was at its peak in 2009, the number of militant violent incidents was 2,258, which decreased to 509 in 2021,” he said.
“In 2009, altogether 1,005 people died in extremist violence while 147 people died in 2021. LWE violent acts on police stations have also decreased. There were 96 such incidents in 2009 which reduced to 46 in 2021,” an official statement quoted Shah as saying.
The Centre is further strengthening security forces in LWE-affected areas, he said, adding 40 new security camps have been opened in the last three years and 15 more are to be opened. “This is a great achievement. The Centre, along with the states, is committed to eliminating the LWE problem,” he said.
The Central Zonal Council comprises Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. These states are important for their geographical location, contribution to GDP and national development, he said. Shah, who is also the Cooperation Minister, said Modi has always worked to strengthen the spirit of cooperative federalism.
“In the last eight years after becoming the PM, Modi has placed the concept of ‘Team India’ before the nation,” he said. The meetings of the Zonal Councils have significantly increased after Modi became the PM, Shah said.
With the increase in the frequency of meetings, there is an exchange of good practices between the states and this not only provides inspiration to other states, but also creates better and healthy relations between the Centre and states, he said.
The Central government has opened about 5,000 post offices along with Postal Banking Centres in insurgency-affected areas in the last three years and set up 1,200 bank branches there, he said.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel attended the meeting virtually as their planes could not land at the Bhopal airport due to heavy rains.
As per the established procedure and practice, the zonal council meeting is preceded by a standing committee of the council in which the agenda items to be placed before the council are scrutinised and prioritised.
The Modi government has been regularly holding meetings of the zonal councils as a part of its overall strategy to strengthen and promote cooperative and competitive federalism in the country, an official said.
There are five zonal councils in the country which were set up in 1957 under Section 15-22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The Union home minister is the chairman of each of these zonal councils and chief minister of the host state (to be chosen by rotation every year) is the vice-chairman.
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