Shah says Naxalism will be wiped out by March 31, 2026, urging cadres to surrender and join the mainstream.
Over 2,000 Naxalites have surrendered in two years, with tribal leaders playing a key role.
Bastar Olympics saw 700 surrendered youths participate, symbolising a shift from conflict to development.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said Naxalism does not benefit anyone - neither those who take up arms nor the security personnel, and asserted that only peace can pave the way for development.
He reaffirmed the Narendra Modi government's commitment to eradicating Naxalism by March 31, 2026. He stated that the Centre has decided to make Chhattisgarh's Bastar division—which consists of seven districts—the nation's most developed tribal area within the next five years.
Speaking at the Bastar Olympic 2025 sporting event's closing ceremony at Indira Priyadarshini Stadium in Jagdalpur, the state's Bastar district headquarters, Shah claimed that naxalism was like a "poisonous snake" that halted regional development and that a "new chapter of development" would start once the threat was eliminated.
He appealed to those who are still associated with the outlawed CPI (Maoists) to lay down arms and join the mainstream of society.
The government has decided to end "red terror" across the country before March 31, 2026, and the goal is now within reach, the Union minister said.
"I came here to participate in the Bastar Olympic 2024, again in 2025, and I promise I will come in 2026 as well. When I arrive for the Bastar Olympics in 2026, Naxalism will have been wiped out from Chhattisgarh and the entire country," he said.
By December 2030, the seven districts of the Bastar division—Kanker, Kondagaon, Bastar, Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur, and Dantewada—will be transformed into the most developed tribal districts in the nation, according to Shah.
He stated that the BJP governments in the state and at the federal level are dedicated to providing each household in these areas with free homes, electricity, toilets, tap water, LPG connections, five kilogrammes of free food grains, and free medical care up to Rs 5 lakh.
According to Shah, the Bastar division will be the most developed tribal area in the nation, with every hamlet having access to a robust network of primary and community health clinics, electricity, and financial services within a five-kilometre radius.
"Naxalism acted like a poisonous snake blocking development in this region. With its end, a new chapter of development will begin," he said.
"Naxalim will be eliminated by March 31, 2026, but I want to appeal to those still associated with it to lay down arms and join the mainstream for the welfare of their family and society.
"Naxalism benefits no one - not those who take up weapons, not tribals and not security personnel. Only peace can pave the way for development," he said, calling on misguided youth to take advantage of the rehabilitation policy and lead a dignified life.
Highlighting the changing face of Bastar, Shah said fear has been replaced by hope, school bells now ring where gunfire once echoed, and roads, railways and highways are being built where development was once a distant dream.
Slogans of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" have replaced slogans of 'Lal Salaam', marking a major transformation, he added.
"We are all committed to a developed Bastar. In this campaign that has been launched, the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre did not set the goal of merely engaging in encounters with armed cadres and killing them. More than 2,000 Naxalites have surrendered (in the last two years)," he said.
"I want to tell you today that the leaders of tribal communities have made a huge contribution (in the surrender). Their guidance has given courage and strength to the Naxalite youth to lay down weapons, and the state government has also stepped forward. Today, I appeal to all the leaders of the community to work towards bringing those who are still carrying weapons back into the mainstream by explaining things to them," he said.
Referring to the Bastar Olympics, Shah said more than 700 surrendered Naxal youths participated in the sports event as a powerful symbol of choosing unity over division and development over destruction.
He added that officials from the Sports Authority of India are present at the event to identify talent and nurture players from Bastar for future national and international events, including the Commonwealth Games and the 2036 Olympics.
"Bastar is changing, and when the Olympics are held again in 2026, they will be organised in a terror-free Bastar," Shah said.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, state Assembly Speaker Raman Singh, Deputy Chief Ministers Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma and others were present.
