Raipur, February 8 Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that the country needs to get rid of the "destructive" communist ideology as soon as possible and appealed to Naxalites to lay down their arms, assuring them of full support from the government.
Addressing a conclave, titled ‘Chhattisgarh@25: Shifting The Lens of Organiser Weekly in Nava Raipur’, Shah said that the Maoist problem cannot be attributed to a lack of development or simply considered as a law-and-order issue.
"Left-Wing Extremism is an ideology-driven challenge," he added.
Shah said that the people of India should understand the truth of this ideology.
"Wherever communists remained in power, they could not bring development. Communist ideology is an ideology indicative of destruction, and the country is required to get rid of it immediately," he added.
Shah said that the communist ideology is no longer present in democratic politics.
"It does not exist in Tripura and Bengal. In Kerala, it is surviving to an extent; however, people have started the change from Thiruvananthapuram," he added.
Shah appealed to Maoists to lay down their arms, saying the government doesn't want to fire a single bullet and will welcome those who surrender "with a red carpet".