Amit Shah says Naxalism will end by March 2026, asks Maoists to surrender arms

Addressing 55 victims of Naxal violence, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Maoists will take their last breath on March 31, 2026.

In Short

• Amit Shah says Naxalism confined to four Chhattisgarh districts
• Security forces have achieved success in anti-Naxal ops, says Shah
• Centre will plan welfare scheme for Naxal violence-affected people of Chhattisgarh

While appealing to the Maoists to give up violence, lay down arms and surrender, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday set March 31, 2026, as the date to end Naxalism in the country.

Addressing the 55 victims of Naxal violence, Shah said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided that Naxal violence and ideology will be wiped out from the country. March 31, 2026, has been fixed as the last day of Naxalism in this country and I ensure that we will finish Naxalism before that."

The Gandhinagar MP further added that security forces have achieved significant success in their operations against the Maoists as the problem is now confined to just four districts of Chhattisgarh.

Shah said that Maoists once had planned to establish a corridor from Pashupatinath (Nepal) to Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) but that was destroyed by the Narendra Modi-led Central government.

The Union Home Ministry will soon chalk out a welfare scheme for Naxal violence-affected people of Chhattisgarh, in close coordination with the state government, Shah said.

"We will help you in whatever way we can through our welfare measures in jobs, healthcare and other areas," Shah said.

SECURITY FORCES INTENSIFY ANTI-NAXAL OPERATIONS

The security forces have intensified their operations against Naxalism, with as many as 164 Maoists being killed in anti-Naxal operations in 2024.

Data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) and sourced from media reports shows that out of 164 Maoists, 142 were killed in Chhattisgarh alone in the first half of 2024. Approximately 90 per cent of the Maoist deaths in Chhattisgarh occurred in the Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai district, which was carved out of Rajnandagaon in 2022, on the Maharashtra border.