In a bid to eliminate the menace of left-wing terrorism and its facilitators in the country, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday asked the CRPF to carry out an effective and decisive campaign against urban Naxals and left-wing extremism (LWE) in the next six months.

According to the reports, on his maiden visit to the CRPF headquarters on Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stressed the need for action against the “Urban Naxals and their facilitators”.

“The Home Minister directed the CRPF to carry out an effective and decisive campaign against Left Wing Extremism in the next six months. Action needs to be taken against the urban Naxals and their facilitators. The Home Minister emphasised that the road connectivity and medical infrastructure in LWE areas should be upgraded,” a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

Read: The Quint uses Khalistanis, Urban Naxals and Leftists to show that ‘Punjab and Sikhs are upset over injustice in Kashmir’

- Advertisement -

Ever since the Narendra Modi government came to power, they have repeatedly stressed that social activists who act as ‘Maoist sympathisers’ won’t be spared.

Last year, in a major crackdown on left-wing terrorists and their sympathisers, the Pune police had arrested ‘Urban Naxals’ P Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonzalves, Arun Pereira, Sudha Bhardwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Stan Swamy in connection with Elgar Parishad violence and plot to kill Prime Minister Modi.

Earlier, the police had nabbed Naxal sympathisers – Surendra Gadling, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale.

Read: Bhima Koregaon violence: Pune court rejects Urban Naxal Gautam Navlakha’s anticipatory bail plea, says custodial interrogation a must

Coming down hard on Naxals, especially in urban areas has been one of the major achievements of the present government. The Narendra Modi government has taken extensive and targeted action against Naxals and combined with wide-spread socio-economic development there has been massive desertion of Naxals, who are now joining the mainstream for better livelihood opportunities.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister also discussed the security scenario in the newly created Union Territory of Jammu-Kashmir and asked the CRPF to undertake civic action programmes besides organising sports and tours for locals and youngsters.

The minister also directed the force to ensure “proper winter provisioning” for the troops in and directed the officers to look after their welfare.

Home Minister Amit Shah also reviewed the overall preparedness and deployment of the over three-lakh-strong force during the more-than-two-hour-long meeting at the CGO Complex on Lodhi Road.