‘Bharat Mata ki Jai being heard where Lal Salaam used to be raised’: Amit Shah says Bastar on edge of being Maoist-free

Shah said a team from Sports Authority of India (SAI) was in Bastar to choose players from the region and prepare them for the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.

During his speech in Jagdalpur city, where he felicitated the winners of the second edition of Bastar Olympics, Shah said, “A team of officials from the SAI has come here to spot the talent of the players who have participated in the Bastar Olympics. Our government has made arrangements to take the players from Bastar to the level where they can participate in the upcoming Commonwealth Games and 2036 Olympic Games.”

The Union Home Minister said that Bastar is now changing, adding the region has now become synonymous with the future rather than fear. “Where the echoes of gunfire used to be heard, school bells are ringing today. Where building roads was once a dream, railway tracks and highways are being laid today. Where slogans of ‘Lal Salaam’ used to be raised, slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ are being heard today,” he said.

Shah said last year, 1.65 lakh players participated in the Bastar Olympics, while this year, the figure has risen to 3.91 lakh – almost a 2.5 times jump. He said the participation of women has increased by almost three times. Seeing this enthusiasm, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has selected Chhattisgarh for the Khelo India Tribal Games, he added.

Shah said it felt “very good” to see more than 700 surrendered Naxalites participating in the Bastar Olympics.

“No one can be happier than me while visiting Bastar. We had said we will end Naxalism by March 2026 and we are on the edge of ending it. When I come next year (for Bastar Olympics), it will be at a time when Naxalism would be gone from India, including Chhattisgarh, and a Naxal-free Bastar would move ahead,” the minister said.

Promising to make Bastar the most developed tribal region in India within five years, Shah said, “We have taken a resolve to make the entire Bastar and India free from Naxalism. We must not stop here; we should rather ensure that the Bastar division, comprising the seven districts of Kanker, Kondagaon, Bastar, Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur and Dantewada, becomes the most developed tribal division in the country by December 2030. It is our government’s resolve to provide every person in Bastar with a house, electricity, toilet, drinking water through tap, gas cylinder, 5 kg food grains and free medical treatment up to Rs 5 lakh.”

Shah said the Centre as well as state government will work together to make Bastar a developed region, adding, “When I use the word developed, I mean every village in Bastar will be connected by roads, there will be electricity, banking facilities will be available within a 5-kilometer radius, and our government will also work to create a dense network of PHCs/CHCs (primary and community health centres).”

Cooperative units will be set up to process forest produce and Bastar will produce the highest quantity of milk among all tribal districts, Shah, who is also the Cooperation Minister, said.

Equating Maoism to a snake, Shah said, “Our goal is to end Naxalism because Naxalites are sitting like a cobra, spreading their hood over the development of this region. With the end of Naxalism, a new beginning of development will start in this area.” Shah promised a “very attractive rehabilitation policy” for those who have surrendered and those who have been injured due to Naxalism.

Shah said that killing Maoists was not the objective of the government. “The operation carried out by the state and central government was not only to kill armed Maoists in an encounter. Over 2,000 Naxal youth surrendered and a huge contribution in this has been from community leaders. I appeal to community leaders and activists to have talks with armed Naxals and bring them back to the mainstream.”

Shah and other dignitaries, including Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, gave a standing ovation to victims of Maoist violence – Kishan Hapka, Saraswati Oyam and Jugaka Kartam from Bijapur, and Madkam Munna and Madvi Sukka from Sukma — who lost their leg in IED blasts, as they participated in a wheelchair race.