New Delhi, March 30 – Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Congress in the Lok Sabha on Monday for fostering Naxalism in the country.
He criticised Rahul Gandhi for reposting the provocative slogan “Tum kitne Hidma maroge, ghar ghar se Hidma niklega” – a slogan that left-wing extremist supporters shouted following the neutralization of the notorious Naxal Hidma. Hidma was on the run and carrying a reward for killing 172 security personnel.
HM Shah accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party of consistently providing ideological support and a soft corner to Naxalites.
While participating in a debate on the eradication of Naxalism in the Lok Sabha on Monday, HM Shah said that Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly been seen in the company of Naxal sympathisers.
He recalled that in 2010 in Odisha, Rahul shared a stage with Lado Sikaka, who delivered a provocative speech and garlanded him.
In 2018, in Hyderabad, Rahul met Gummadi Vittal Rao, a figure ideologically aligned with Naxals.
HM Shah strongly condemned the Congress for fostering Naxalism during its decades in power. He pointed out that under the Manmohan Singh government, an extra-constitutional National Advisory Council (NAC) was formed, which included individuals with links to Naxalites. One member was associated with the NGO ‘Aman Vedika’ and was the wife of a Naxalite leader involved in urban kidnappings. Binayak Sen, convicted in a Naxal-related case in 2010, was appointed to the Planning Commission’s Health Steering Committee.
Jairam Ramesh wrote a letter advocating the release of known Naxalite Mahesh Raut. Union Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted how the UPA government’s own flagship schemes indirectly boosted the morale of Naxalites.
He pointed out that Raut was a beneficiary of the Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship, a programme run directly from the Prime Minister’s Office, which was later found to have links with Naxalites and was even jailed in a case registered by the Maharashtra Police.
HM Shah further recalled the horrific 2010 Dantewada massacre in Chhattisgarh, where Naxalites ambushed and killed 76 CRPF personnel in cold blood during P Chidambaram’s tenure as Home Minister. What shocked the nation even more was that certain sections at Jawaharlal Nehru University celebrated the killings.
Students reportedly danced in jubilation over the death of security personnel and, in a shocking display, trampled the Indian national flag under their feet – an act that drew no strong condemnation from the then Congress leadership, HM Shah said.
HM Shah expressed disbelief at Chidambaram’s response to the massacre. Even after the loss of 76 soldiers, the former Home Minister reportedly said that the government could not ask the Naxalites to lay down their arms because they believed in armed struggle for their so-called freedom.
Shah criticised this soft, sympathetic approach, saying it only encouraged the extremists rather than breaking their resolve.
The Home Minister questioned how the morale of security forces could be maintained when the Centre itself appeared to shield Naxal sympathisers. He contrasted this with the Modi government’s zero-tolerance approach, which has significantly weakened the Maoist network through sustained operations, development initiatives in tribal areas, and the use of advanced technology.
HM Shah asserted that the government is on the verge of eradicating Naxalism, with major leadership structures dismantled and large-scale surrenders and neutralisations recorded.
He paid rich tribute to those soldiers who made a supreme sacrifice in the eradication of Naxalism.
He urged all political parties to rise above narrow interests and support the national mission to make India completely free from the decades-old scourge of left-wing extremism.
