On Maoist Threat, Amit Shah Quotes Manmohan Singh, Blames Indira Gandhi

Eradication of Maoism needed only a strong will, which the Narendra Modi government has, and the Congress, in contrast, not only allowed Maoist violence to proliferate but the growth of urban Naxals also took place under their watch, Union Minister Amit Shah said today. 

Responding to the debate in the Lok Sabha on eradication of Left-wing terror -- the government's deadline for which ends tomorrow -- Shah said the Maoist violence has cost the lives of 20,000 young people and affected 120 million people and it was a failure of the Congress government that tribals and several other communities were deprived of development.

Shah said Naxalism has spread from Leftist ideology and "Indira Gandhi also embraced it to win the presidential election".

"Over the last 75 years, the Congress party governed for 60 years. Why, then, did the tribal communities remain deprived of development? Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said that within the country, Naxalism posed a far greater challenge than the militancy in Kashmir and the north-east... despite this, nothing was done," he said.

The discussion had opened another front between the NDA and the Congress, with members of the ruling party blaming the 60-year rule of the Congress for proliferation of Maoism in the country. Many leaders of the BJP had squarely blamed the Grand Old Party, UPA government tried to mainstream Naxalism instead of curbing it. 

The BJP's Sambit Patra said the UPA government tried to mainstream Naxalism instead of curbing it.

Shrikant Shinde of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena said the "earlier governments timely intervened, the situation would have been different". Those governments, he said, were not "mazboot' (strong) but 'majboor' (helpless)". "A lack of political will and policy paralysis were your (Congress's) shortcomings... efforts were on to weaken the country from inside; foreign conspiracies were working, and Congress compromised with national security when it was in power," he said.

The change, Amit Shah said, came after the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 and "many long-standing problems were addressed".

"Article 370 has been revoked, a grand temple has been built on the Ram Janmabhoomi, GST has become a reality in this country today, the CAA law has been enacted, and 33 per cent reservation has been provided for women's power in legislative bodies... In this way, many major works have been accomplished under Modi ji's leadership," Shah added.

Extending his attack to the Left, Shah also said, the moment a Communist government was formed in Russia, the CPI -- the Communist Party of India -- was established in 1925.

"The Russian government, through its sponsorship, facilitated the creation of Communist parties across the entire world. A branch of this was established here in our country. Now, how can a party -- the very foundation of which was laid under the inspiration of a foreign nation-think about the best interests of our own country?" he said.

The CPI(M) was formed in 1964... In 1969, specifically to oppose parliamentary politics, the CPI (ML) was established. Its objective was not to create a developmental vacuum, nor was it to protect rights. The objective enshrined in its constitution was to carry out an armed revolution by opposing parliamentary politics".