Chhatarpur, Dec 9 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Tuesday that 2025 is ending with elimination of Maoist activities from the state’s soil, which had been a major obstruction for development in the red terror-affected areas for the past several decades.

Calling it a ‘national achievement’, Chief Minister Yadav credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for taking resolution and tough action for making the country Maoist-free.

He said that Madhya Pradesh will now witness more growth in the coming years.

“Hamne Lal Salam ko akhiri salam de diya hai (We have given last farewell to the Maoists), CM Yadav said during a press conference after chairing the state Cabinet in Khajuraho on Tuesday.

Expressing happiness over ending Naxalism activities from Madhya Pradesh, while referring to Congress leader Likhiram Kawre’s murder in 1999, the Chief Minister said that Congress government never thought of taking tough action against Naxalism.

“Today, when Madhya Pradesh is set to become Maoist-free, I would express my gratitude to PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their resolution to end Naxalism from the country,” he added.

In the past two weeks, 33 Maoists have surrendered, for the first time in more than three decades in the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Special Zone.

The CPI-Maoist MMC Zone comprises bordering districts of the three neighbouring states — Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh — including Balaghat district and parts of Mandla district (Madhya Pradesh), Rajnandgaon, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki and Kabirdham districts of Chhattisgarh, and Gondia district of Maharashtra.

Around 40-45 armed Maoist cadres were active in two major parts of the MMC Zone.

Three Dalams, Khatiya Mocha, Bhoramdev and Borla, formed the Kanha-Bhoramdev division in the northern MMC Zone, covering Balaghat and Mandla districts of Madhya Pradesh and Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh.

At least two Dalams, Malajkhand (including the defunct Tanda Dalam cadres) and Darre Khasa, formed the Gondia-Rajnandgaon-Balaghat (GRB) division in the southern MMC Zone, where cadres armed with AK-47s, INSAS rifles and Under Barrel Grenade Launchers remained active.

A series of bulk surrenders began on November 28, when 11 Darre Khasa Dalam cadres, led by MMC Special Zonal Committee spokesperson Vikas Nagpur alias Anant, surrendered in Gondia (Maharashtra).

A senior police official leading the anti-Maoist operation in Madhya Pradesh, said that just six Maoists are left to surrender, failing which they will be eliminated.

Once they surrender, the armed Naxalism menace will be wiped out from the state.

–IANS

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