Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday rejected the ceasefire offer of Maoists, and asked them to surrender instead by laying down their weapons. The home minister said that if the leftist extremists want to surrender and lay down arms, they are most welcome to do so and security forces would not fire a single bullet on them.
Shah made the comments while addressing the valedictory session of a seminar on ‘Naxal Mukt Bharat: Ending Red Terror Under Modi’s Leadership’ in Delhi. He was referring to a purported letter issued by the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) expressing readiness to give up arms. The letter asked the Central government to announce a one-month ceasefire and pause the ongoing anti-Naxal operations.
The home minister said, “Recently, to spread confusion, a letter was written stating that what has happened so far has been a mistake, that a ceasefire should be declared, and that we (Naxals) want to surrender. I want to say there will be no ceasefire. If you want to surrender, there is no need for a ceasefire. Lay down your arms, not a single bullet will be fired.”
He said that if the Naxals surrender, government is ready with a good rehabilitation policy for them. He said, “The government’s approach is that we make every effort to arrest Naxalites and get them to surrender. We also give them a chance. We have also introduced a good surrender policy. But when you take up arms and set out to kill innocent citizens of India, the security forces have no other option. Bullets must be answered with bullets.”
Shah further slammed leftist political parties and activists for supporting the Naxals. He said, “Why do they need to protect them…why don’t NGOs come forward to protect human rights of victim tribals? Have all the people who write these lengthy articles and advise us ever written an article for the tribal victims? Why are they not concerned about this?”
Amit Shah reiterated the government’s goal of making India free of Naxalism by March 31, 2026. He said, “This country will be free of Naxalism by March 31, 2026. Many people believe that the Naxalite problem will end with the end of armed activities. But this is not the case. Why did the Naxalite problem arise, grow, and develop in this country? Who provided its ideological support? Until Indian society understands this theory, this idea of Naxalism, and the people in society who provided ideological support, legal support, and financial support, the fight against Naxalism will not end.”
He further stated, “We can make Naxalits surrender or our security forces can neutralise them, but on the ideological front, we have to make a lot of efforts. Regarding this, the discussion that took place here is relevant and important to me as well.”
