Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has said that “frustrated Maoists” are losing their footholds due to the joint actions of the state and Central governments which have put the state on the path of development by building roads, schools and hospitals in remote, inaccessible areas that were earlier the hotbeds of Left-wing extremists.
Singh also said that Naxalism can only be countered through development and that there would be “no dearth of money” in this regard as long as Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister.
“My dream for the state is a peaceful and progressive Chhattisgarh. We are on that path. We will soon end the menace of Naxalism from its roots. We are progressing in that direction,” Singh told IANS in an interview here on 8 April.
Asserting that development is the “mool mantra” (basic principle) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, he said, “By carrying out development works, we have been successful in awakening society. It will definitely benefit us. Naxalism can only be countered by development. Wherever we are constructing roads and working on development, the Maoists are losing their foothold. Now, we have reached very close and are moving ahead in an important direction to root out the menace.”
Singh said that his government was getting better cooperation from the Centre on the Maoist front, especially after the BJP came to power in 2014, and has been working in close coordination with it. “We are getting all sorts of support from Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The Prime Minister’s priority has always been the development of the Maoist-affected areas. He recently provided a special fund of Rs 600 crore for the aspirational districts of the country, among which seven districts are from Chhattisgarh. He provided the District Mineral Foundation to us and we got Rs 300 crore additional funds for the state. There is no dearth of money for development as long as BJP is there at the Centre,” he said. Singh said there are still many backward districts in Chhattisgarh, including Dantewada, Bijapur and Sukma. “They all are areas with heavy Maoist presence. We brought these areas into the mainstream on a priority basis,” he said.
Singh said that his government has constructed roads in areas where it was impossible to reach. IANS