Children lacked access to schools, the sick were denied medical facilities, and those who ruled the country for decades abandoned the people to their fate while enjoying the comforts of life themselves: Prime Minister
BHOPAL: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that Chhattisgarh is now breaking free from Naxalism, promising to bring an end to sufferings and miseries, endured by the tribal inhabitants of the insurgency-hit regions in the state for half-a-century due to the Maoist terrorism.
Kicking off the six-day-long Silver Jubilee Celebration of Chhattisgarh Foundation Day at Nav Raipur, Mr. Modi said that due to the Maoist terrorism, tribal regions in Chhattisgarh were deprived of roads for a long time.
Children lacked access to schools, the sick were denied medical facilities, and those who ruled the country for decades abandoned the people to their fate while enjoying the comforts of life themselves, he said.
He took a dig at those who ‘pretend to uphold the Constitution and shed crocodile tears in the name of social justice’, stating that they committed decades of injustice against the people for their own political gain.
Mr. Modi said that he resolved to free India from Maoist terrorism when the country gave him the opportunity to serve the country in 2014.
“The results of this resolve are now visible in the entire country. Eleven years ago, over 125 districts were affected by Maoist terror, today, only three districts remain where traces of Maoist activities persist”, he said.
The day is not far when Chhattisgarh and the entire country will be completely free from Maoist terrorism, he affirmed.
He cited surrender of Maoists in hordes in recent times at various places in the country and said that ‘Elimination of Maoist terrorism has made impossible possible’.
Mr. Modi maintained that the areas once gripped by fears of bombs and guns have now transformed.
In the remote tribal village of Chikapalli in Bijapur district in south Bastar in Chhattisgarh, electricity has reached for the first time in seven decades. In Rekawaya village of Abujhmad in south Bastar, school construction has begun for the first time since independence.
Puvarti village in Sukma district in south Bastar, once considered a stronghold of terror, is now witnessing a wave of development.
“The red flag has now been replaced by the national tricolur. Regions like Bastar are now filled with celebrations, hosting events such as Bastar Pandum and Bastar Olympics”, he said while highlighting the transformation of Leftwing extremism-hit Bastar.
Even as Chhattisgarh is gradually freeing itself from the shackles of Maoism, the coming years are crucial for the state since to build a developed India, it is essential for Chhattisgarh to be developed.
He said that the decline of Maoist terrorism in Chhattisgarh has paved the way for its rapid progress.
Twenty-five years ago, Chhattisgarh had only one medical college, the state has now 14 medical colleges and an All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raipur.
