Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah addresses Press Conference in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah today addressed a press conference in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh.

Addressing the press conference, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah said that when our party’s government was formed in Chhattisgarh under the leadership of Shri Vishnu Deo Sai, at that time our party’s government was also in power at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He added that immediately after our party’s government was formed here on 13 December 2023, we restarted the campaign to eliminate the remaining Naxals in Bastar. Shri Shah said that after the meeting of all State Directors General of Police on 24 August 2024, it was announced that the country would be made Naxal-free by 31 March 2026. He stated that due to the valour, courage, and sacrifices of our security forces, the complete elimination of Naxalism from the country has been achieved even before the target date of 31 March 2026.

Shri Amit Shah said that the date of 19 May 2026 also holds great significance. He said that ever since Naxalism began spreading from Naxalbari, its supporter intellectuals used to argue that Naxalism existed because development had not reached certain areas. He clarified that this was not the truth, because there were many parts of the country that were even more backward than the Naxal-affected regions, yet Naxalism did not spread there, and all those areas gradually progressed towards development. He added that, however, our Bastar and many other Naxal-affected areas could not develop.

Union Home Minister said that on 19 May 2026, the vision of comprehensive development is being launched in the same previously Naxal-affected area. He informed that the Veer Shaheed Gundadhur Seva Dera was inaugurated just yesterday. To free Bastar’s seven districts from Naxalism, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, had established nearly 200 security camps in the region. He said that now that Bastar has become Naxal-free, it has been decided that in the first phase, 70 of these 200 camps will be converted into Veer Shaheed Gundadhur Seva Deras. The purpose of these Seva Deras is to take government facilities and services to the doorstep of every tribal brother and sister in Bastar. Each Seva Dera will provide banking facilities, Aadhaar card services, all digital services, and benefits of 371 schemes of the State and Central Governments through the Common Service Centres (CSCs). All development-related services will be available under one roof. The objective is to ensure that citizens deprived of development for 50 years receive 100% benefits of all government schemes. Shri Shah said that a Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) and a dairy facility will also be established in these Seva Deras, enabling every tribal woman to supply milk from her animals. He added that through these Seva Deras, the government will provide one cow and one buffalo to every tribal family in Bastar, so they can market their milk across India through the cooperative system. In the next six months, a large dairy network is being developed across the Bastar division.

Shri Amit Shah said that earlier this area was under the shadow of the guns and bayonets, but now development will reach there. Until now, the entire region remained deprived of development because of Naxalites. People here did not get ration cards, nor the benefit of free foodgrain schemes, nor health insurance of up to ₹5 lakh. Their produce was not procured at ₹3,100 per quintal. There was no trace of employment, electricity did not reach the villages, water did not reach, and schools were not built. He said that through the Seva Deras, we are going to provide all these facilities across Bastar. The Veer Shaheed Gundadhur Seva Dera will become a major vehicle to transform Naxal-affected Bastar into a Naxal-free and developed Bastar. He added that forest produce will be processed through cooperatives and the entire profit from it will be given to the tribal communities.

Union Home Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Government of India has undertaken several major works for the development of Bastar. We have completed the construction of 12,211 kilometres of roads at a cost of ₹20,557 crore. A total of 13,000 mobile towers have been planned, out of which 5,000 towers have already been installed across Naxal-affected areas of the country. 1,804 bank branches have been opened, 1,321 ATMs have been installed, and the work of opening 890 post offices has also been completed. 259 Eklavya Model Schools have been opened, 46 ITIs and 49 Skill Development Centres have been established, and skill training has been provided to more than 90,000 youth and women. Shri Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the Government of India has prepared a comprehensive development plan for tribal areas across the country, including Naxal-free Bastar. Under this plan, there will be full saturation of development schemes, complete security arrangements, a scientific programme for the future-oriented empowerment of youth and women, and the preservation and promotion of tribal culture and traditions while protecting and advancing the local heritage.

Shri Amit Shah said that we have initiated Bastar Pandum here. He added that Prime Minister Modi had inspired us to make sincere efforts and prepare a plan to preserve tribal culture. Under Bastar Pandum, a major platform has been provided for tribal dance, songs, language, traditional attire, cuisine, and other cultural elements. One year ago, 45,000 people participated in Bastar Pandum and contributed to promoting all these activities. Similarly, two Bastar Olympics have already been organised. In the previous Bastar Olympics, 3 lakh 94 thousand athletes participated, including a team of our former Naxal brother-sister comrades who had accepted rehabilitation. Notably, this team delivered the best performance. Shri Shah said that Prime Minister Modi wants to send a clear message to the entire Naxal-free region that violence can never be a solution to any dispute. Democratic values, mutual cooperation, and the idea of development alone can form the foundation for the progress of individuals. No development – of a person, a village, or a region – is possible through violence. The myth that Naxalism spread because of poverty will be dispelled by the Veer Shaheed Gundadhur Seva Dera.

Union Home Minister said that once this entire region becomes fully developed, a powerful message will go out to the entire world that schools could not be built here because the Naxalites had destroyed them, roads could not be constructed because the Naxalites had created hurdles, hospitals could not function because the Naxalites had killed the hospital staff, and banks did not come because the Naxalites had looted them and forced them to shut down. Shri Shah said that the Shaheed Veer Gundadhur Seva Dera in Bastar will present a democratic model of development before all those across the country who have taken up arms in the name of carving out a path to development.

Shri Amit Shah assured all residents of Bastar on behalf of the Government of India and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, saying that there is no need to live in fear anymore – a new sunrise has dawned here. He said that the tribal youth and women of the region should move forward with full confidence, as both the Government of India and the Chhattisgarh Government stand firmly with them. Shri Shah cautioned that as the previously Naxal-affected region of Bastar is now set to become a developed area, the people must remain vigilant. Those inspired by Maoist ideology who once tried to destroy Bastar with guns may now return in disguise. He urged the people not to be misled by their propaganda. He emphasised that both the Chhattisgarh Government and the Government of India are governments elected by the people and will carry forward the development of Bastar through democratic means.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the Government of India and the Chhattisgarh Government are committed to working shoulder to shoulder to transform this region into the most developed tribal division in the entire country, and that within the next five years, Bastar will become the most developed tribal division among all tribal regions of India with an increase in income of Bastar by 6 times. He added that the entire credit for a Naxal-free India goes to the jawans of our security forces who made the supreme sacrifice and to their families.