Lagatar24 Desk
Jagdalpur, Oct 19: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday that occurrences of Naxal violence had decreased by 52% during the nine years that the Narendra Modi administration has been in power, accusing the Congress of supporting Naxalism.
Speaking at a rally in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, which is poised for elections, Shah urged people to support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is presently in power in the state, saying that his party will eradicate the Naxal threat throughout the entire region.
He asserted that funds given by the Centre for the development of the state would be “diverted to Delhi through the ‘ATM’ of Congress” if the Congress regains control of Chhattisgarh.
Elections for Chhattisgarh’s 90 assembly seats are slated to take place in two phases on November 7 and November 17. Votes will be tallied on December 3.
The rally took place in Jagdalpur, the district headquarters of Bastar, prior to the BJP candidates’ nominations being filed in three Bastar constituencies.
Shah mentioned that the residents of Chhattisgarh will have three occasions to celebrate Diwali- first on the Diwali festival day, the second when the BJP wins the election on December 3, and the third when the construction of the Ram temple is finished in January since Chhattisgarh is the “nanihal,” or the maternal grandparents’ home, of Lord Ram.
In the past, the Bastar region was said to have been the most severely hit by Naxalism, and in certain areas, the threat still exists. “Elect the BJP to power in the state, we will free the entire state of the menace,” Shah said.
“In 9 years of the Modi government, incidents of (Naxal) violence declined by 52 per cent, deaths (in Maoist violence) came down by 70 per cent, civilian deaths deceased by 68 per cent, while the (number of) Naxal-affected districts declined by 62 per cent,” he added.
“(Prime Minister) Modi ji has done a lot of work in the interest of tribals across the country. Apart from protecting their jal (water), jungle, zameen (land), the Modi government has worked to provide security, respect and inclusive development to tribals,” he said.
In his appeal for people to vote for the BJP, Shah said, “There are two options in front of you, one is the Congress which encourages Naxalism while on the other hand, there is the BJP which eliminates Naxalism. The Congress which sent crores of rupees of corruption to Delhi Darbar, while the BJP which is providing gas cylinders, toilets, drinking water, health facilities, grains and houses to crores of poor people.”
