New Delhi, March 31 – The Congress criticized Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, saying he achieved a remarkable feat in the Lok Sabha when he "ranted and raved for 90 minutes" without ever using his favorite abusive word.
The opposition party also emphasized the continuity in anti-Naxal strategies and operations over the past two decades, and asserted that the Saranda Action Plan in the rich forest areas of Jharkhand, launched in October 2011, was a "decisive turning point."
The Congress's statement came a day after Shah declared that the country has become free from Naxalism with the apex body of the Maoists and the central structure almost completely dismantled, and accused the Congress of doing "nothing" to end the long spell of violence perpetrated by the ultras.
Responding to the debate in the Lok Sabha on 'Efforts to free the country from left-wing extremism (LWE)', Shah also alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen multiple times in public with sympathizers of Naxals and even posted videos "sympathetic" to the Maoists from his social media handle.
Taking a swipe at Shah, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Yesterday, the Home Minister achieved a remarkable feat in the Lok Sabha. He raved and ranted for 90 minutes without ever using his favorite abusive word – which had to be expunged on previous occasions."
Ramesh also tagged his post on X earlier this month when he had taken a swipe at Shah, and said that one of his favorite words uttered again in the Lok Sabha has been expunged.
This swipe at Shah came after an opposition move to remove Om Birla as the Lok Sabha speaker was defeated in the Lower House after a heated debate.
Responding to the debate, Shah had then trashed Rahul Gandhi's contention that he was not allowed to speak in the House, saying the Congress leader was frequently abroad during sessions and skipped discussions willfully as he does not want to speak.
The opposition members had rushed to the Well of the House, protesting and raising slogans as the home minister was concluding his speech at the end of the two-day-long debate on the resolution.
They had demanded an apology for Shah's certain remarks, which they claimed were "offensive".
In his remarks in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Shah targeted the Congress and claimed that former prime minister Indira Gandhi had accepted the support of the Naxals in an election in the 1970s in then undivided Andhra Pradesh and remained "influenced" by the Maoist ideology.
"Experts say without the support of those in power, the Red Corridor could not have been created," he said, referring to the region affected by Naxalism across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The debate was held a day before the deadline declared by Shah for the elimination of Naxal violence.
Last year, Shah had announced that the LWE would end in the country by March 31, 2026, and a major operation had been organised against the Naxals.
"The biggest achievement of the Modi government is a Naxal-free India; any researcher will accept this," he said.
In another post on Tuesday, Ramesh said, "the continuity in the anti-Naxal strategy and operations over the past two decades is revealed by one of India’s most distinguished police officers in this interview. K Vijay Kumar was Security Advisor in the Ministry of Home Affairs during both UPA and NDA regimes. He was awarded the Padma Shri this year."
"The Saranda Action Plan in the rich forest areas of Jharkhand launched in October 2011 was a transformational initiative which provided a model adopted elsewhere as well. It was a decisive turning point," he said.
Ramesh also shared his letter to then Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda in October 2011.
"As I had promised you, a team comprising of senior officers of the Ministry of Rural Development and other institutions visited the Saranda forest area on October 18-20, 2011. They had a very useful interaction with the district administration and based on these discussions, a report has been prepared. I am attaching a copy of this report," Ramesh had said.
"As you will observe, considerable follow-up action now has to be taken by the district administration and the state government along the lines indicated in the note. I would request for your personal intervention to ensure that the action points identified for the district administration and the state government in the note are taken immediately. I assure you that as soon as proposals are received, we will move very quickly," Ramesh had said in his letter.
"I am sure you share my view that what we are trying to do in Saranda has enormous significance not just for that area but for other Naxal-affected regions in the country as well," Ramesh, who was the then Union Rural Development minister, had said.