Naxalism will be wiped out from the country: Rajnath Singh

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today asserted that Naxalism will be "wiped out" from the country as he lauded the efforts of the Nitish Kumar government in tackling the menace in Bihar.

Addressing an event organised by the state party unit on the eve of Babu Veer Kuer Singh's 160th Viyotsav Diwas in Patna, he said the number of incidents related to the rebels has come down since 2013. 
Also, the number of deaths due to Naxal attacks has come down to one third, he said. 

"Naxalite's confidence is shattered...Naxalism will be wiped out from the country," Singh said at the programme attended by a galaxy of BJP leaders and Union ministers.

"These Naxalites thrive at the cost of poor people...I would like to tell the poor of the country as well as those of Bihar that the Naxal leaders want them to remain poor, whereas their own children study in prominent colleges and universities, and some of them even study abroad. The Naxalite leaders have become crorepatis," he said.

Thirteen Naxals were on Sunday gunned down in an encounter with security forces at Etapalli's Boriya forest area in Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered and the search operation is still on.

The home minister asked the people to be on guard against the Naxalites' designs to win their sympathies.

Earlier, addressing a function to inaugurate the ITBP's 6th battalion's buildings at Saran, the headquarter town of Chapra district, the Union minister lauded the efforts of the Nitish Kumar government in tackling Naxalism.

"I would like to mention the situation of Naxalism in Bihar. The number of Naxal incidents has come down to less than half here since 2013 and the deaths to one-third," Singh said.

"I would like to thank CM Nitish Kumar, deputy CM Sushil Modi, the police and para military forces for this (achievement)," he said. 
The senior BJP leader also appreciated the Bihar government for posting a resounding 10 per cent plus growth rate.

"Bihar's growth rate has increased tremendously during the NDA government. The state has clocked a growth rate of 10.3 per cent for the first time when the national growth stands at 7.3 per cent. Both Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi deserve praise for this," he said. 

Singh termed as "historic" the enforcement of complete prohibition in the state and said the decision had been taken for the better future of the state's people.

"As a home minister of the country, I can say that the crime rate has gone down in Bihar after the enforcement of prohibition," he said, adding that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appreciated the same during the recent centenary celebrations of Champaran satyagraha.    

The Bihar chief minister, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and BJP MPs Janardan Singh Sigriwal and Rajiv Pratap Rudy were among those present at the programme.

(With inputs from PTI)