Barring one, entire top leadership of Maoists wiped out, Amit Shah tells Lok Sabha

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday (March 30, 2026) that barring one, the entire leadership of Maoists had been wiped out in the past two years.

He said that at the beginning of 2024, there were 21 Politburo and Central Committee members of the Communist Party of India (Maoists), but as of today, one was arrested, seven surrendered, 12 were killed, and dialogue is on with the absconding member who is expected to surrender soon.

“Thus, their Politburo and central structure have been almost completely dismantled. Our goal was a Naxal-free India by March 31. The country will be informed once the entire process is formally completed, but I can say that we have become Naxal-free,” Mr. Shah said, while replying to a discussion on Maoism in the Lok Sabha.

In the past three years, 706 Maoists were killed, 2,218 were arrested, and more than 4,800 cadres have surrendered.

Attacking the then Congress-led UPA Government, he said police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel were there before 2014 as well but what changed was clear policy and strong political will.

He said dialogue and discussion were futile with some people, and force had to be used against them. “Innocent citizens have to be protected from their atrocities. They planted bombs in farmers’ fields, crippling them. I have said it many times — lay down your arms, complete arrangements for rehabilitation will be made but a bullet will be answered with a bullet,” he said.

He said 12 States became part of the Red Corridor (belt affected by Maoism) and there was no rule of law there. Over 12 crore people lived in poverty for years and 20,000 youth were killed.

Phone tracking and drone surveillance

Mr. Shah said that in the fight against Left Wing Extremism (LWE) three tools — dialogue, security, and coordination – were deployed. “By using the latest technology, we carried out precise surveillance and analysed a large volume of telephone bills. With the help of location‑tracking systems, mobile phone activity data, scientific call logs, social media analysis, and support from forensic and technical institutions, the Ministry of Home Affairs led this entire operation. This success was achieved through drone surveillance, the use of satellites, imaging technology, and artificial‑intelligence‑based data analysis,” he said.

Mr. Shah said that he would like to speak about three important dates: August 10, 2019; August 24, 2024; and March 31, 2026. “On 20 August 2019, a meeting was held in the MHA, where the entire framework for police coordination, modernisation, induction of reformed former Naxalites into the police force, and coordination with intelligence agencies was designed. At that time, Chhattisgarh had a government led by the Opposition party, which did not extend cooperation. Before 2024, Bihar had already become Naxal‑free, Maharashtra had become Naxal‑free, except for one tehsil, Odisha had become Naxal‑free, and Jharkhand had become Naxal‑free, except for one district. Only Chhattisgarh remained, because the Congress Government there had protected the Naxalites. In January 2024, our government was formed in Chhattisgarh, and from the very next day, full support was assured. A joint strategy was formulated, and on 24 August 2024, we announced that Maoism would be eliminated from the entire country by 31 March 2026,” Mr. Shah said.